NEPTUNE - The nonprofit Jersey Shore Dream Center will be celebrating a "decade of difference" on Oct. 15 at the group's 10th annual Night of Dreams Charity Gala.

The goal is to raise enough funds to expand the center's food delivery service by adding a refrigerated truck.

Liz Seaman, director of marketing and development at the Jersey Shore Dream Center, said the nonprofit is focused on reaching the underserved community.

"So, we are really focused on hunger relief, community outreach, family support and just trying to make sure those gaps in the system that aren't being addressed are being filled," Seaman said.

She added that one of their mottos is "find the need and fill it."

"And we say that because there are a lot of really wonderful nonprofits out there, so what we are trying to do is not duplicate what other people are doing, but we are trying to look for areas are not being addressed," Seaman said.

The original Dream Center was founded in Los Angeles in 1994. Since then, the Dream Center network has been a volunteer-driven organization that helps over 80,000 individuals and families each month, according to their website, through mobile hunger relief and medical programs, residential rehabilitation programs, job training and life skills training and more.

More than 100 independent Dream Centers have been launched nationally, as well as internationally, including the Jersey Shore Dream Center which was incorporated in 2012.

If the nonprofit can get the refrigerated truck, it will be able to deliver an additional 12,000 pounds of food to those in need.

While focusing on food insecurity throughout the state, the Dream Center discovered another critical issue was displaced people.

"There are obviously a lot of food pantries throughout New Jersey, but there are also a lot of people that are being placed in displaced housing or temporarily in a hotel or rooming house that don't have transportation to reach those areas. So what we do is take the food bank and we bring it to those areas where people don't have access to food pantries," Seaman said.

Currently, the Jersey Shore Dream Center is giving out about 13,000 tons of groceries a month on average.

"And that is actually still growing. We go to 24 (or) 25 stops every week, and it is about 23,000 people a year we give groceries to on a regular basis," Seaman said.

The nonprofit's outreach grew during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

"There were people out there who never thought they would be in a position of needing assistance who suddenly were faced with needing food, needing clothing, needing supplies for their children," Seaman said.

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The impact of the pandemic is still being felt.

"Our food bank is actually still running at a 163% increase since the beginning of 2020. At the height of the pandemic, it was probably three times that. I think we were serving 37 stops at the height of the pandemic," Seaman said.

One program, in particular, that has seen a big increase is their diaper pantry.

"We have one of the only diaper pantries in Monmouth County. One thing that a lot of people don't realize is diapers are not covered by any of the government subsidy programs, like SNAP or WIC, so even if someone qualifies for assistance that doesn't cover diapers," Seaman said.

The diaper pantry grew 300% over the pandemic and that need is expected to grow "because (the need) hasn't really calmed down."

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The baby formula shortage also impacted the Dream Center.

"We had people calling and looking for formula and we were really blessed to be able to receive a good amount of formula during that, so we were able to help out a lot of families that were looking for some specific formula types," Seaman said.

Neptune Township Committeeman Robert Lane Jr. was known to help out with the Dream Center on occasion before he was involved with the township committee.

"When I was mayor in 2020, I had a mayor's ball and we raised $66,000 for them," Lane said. "When I join the board, we raised a record $110,000."

He added that the need has been growing every year.

For more information on the Oct. 15 Night of Dreams event in Neptune, email info@jerseyshoredreamcenter.org or go to eventbrite.com.

Charles Daye is the metro reporter for Asbury Park and Neptune, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. @CharlesDayeAPP Contact him: CDaye@gannettnj.com