Hundreds of people in need will be served a Thanksgiving meal and will be able to get essentials thanks to the generosity of the Asbury Park community.

This is the 16th year that Marilyn Schlossbach and Pat Sherman have organized a community giveaway. They are giving away donations of socks, shoes and other items people may need as the weather gets colder. People are also able to come out to get some Thanksgiving food.

This effort was all made possible thanks to donations from local schools, which purchased turkeys and clothing. Volunteers also helped distribute the items.

“I think the good part is you go outside today, and you see how many young people are volunteering and they get it and they are seeing, ‘Wow, I'm helping a man pick out a pair of pants from the table that somebody else donated all these clothes,’” says Sherman.

Plans are already in place to offer meals in a few weeks during Christmas and then again at Easter. Organizers say their goal is to return to the tradition of opening up Langosta Lounge and having an inside meal before the COVID-19 pandemic paused those annual events two years ago.