N.J. residents wait for power as requests for food assistance surge

WILLINGBORO, New Jersey (WPVI) -- The power is still out for many New Jersey residents following the severe weather earlier this week, and that poses problems for the food supply.

On Rosemore Ave. in Deptford Twp. people are running out of patience. They lost power over the weekend, got it back then lost it again during Monday's severe weather.

"Every time there's a storm it's always this end of the block. For some reason this end of Rosemore is always last," said resident Lisa DeShields.

Joanne Spickler said it's been hectic.

"I gotta keep going to the mall, charging my cell phone."

PSE&G says about 3,000 workers are out trying to restore power throughout the area after storms hit earlier this week, and 1,000 workers have been brought in from out of state. PSE&G officials say they are working around the clock to get everyone back on by Thursday.

Diane Miller on Rosemore Avenue says she's thrown out some of her food already and will get rid of the rest of it tonight.

She showed us her refrigerator full of food that's inedible.

"Warm iced tea and I'm probably getting ready to throw the rest out," Miller said.

She's not alone.

In Willingboro, the utility company is handing out ice and water to affected residents.

"They've been doing an outstanding job getting the service back. We really appreciate it," said customer Hector Maldonado.

Jim Boothroyd's business was impacted. Fortunately, his home was spared the worse of the storm. He lost power for about fifteen minutes.

"There's some trees that are down in back, in our backyard we had to cut the up" he said.

The Food Bank of South Jersey says it's seeing a surge in calls for emergency food assistance because of recent storms.

"If they don't have electricity, we have shelf-stable items we can provide. We can provide a 3-5 day meal supply for them," said Chief Operating Officer Charlier Hosier.

These boxes filled with non-perishables are heading to a senior facility in Camden without power. They say when the power comes back on they'll send them perishables too.

With all the wild weather, it's been a busy few weeks.

"Usually in the cities, they restore power pretty quickly. But for some reason, this has been prolonged and that's the severity of the storms," said Hosier.

To contact the food bank for assistance or to make a donation, click here.