Well, now that Halloween is behind us, New Jersey is starting to prepare for the holiday season.

For the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and other pantries around the state.

That means meeting an increased demand for food assistance due to the inflation of food prices, housing, rent and all the other essentials.

To help, the food bank is planning 11 food distribution events for the month of November alone, giving away tens of thousands of turkeys and all the fixings to make sure every family has what they need on the table.

Raven Santana reports.

As part of our ongoing series Hunger in New Jersey.

People are surprised to hear that the need today is much greater than it was during even the heights of COVID.

President and CEO of the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Elizabeth McCarthy, says the pandemic may be over, but food insecurity remains.

McCarthy says throughout the course of the year, the food bank serves over 90 million meals to the people in the state of New Jersey, and she anticipates that number to increase.

There are a number of reasons for that.

I think there were more financial supports in place during COVID.

Right now, with things, you know, prices have gone up somewhat, rents gone up dramatically, and we're seeing longer lines than we've ever seen at our pantries, which.

Is why the food bank is starting to prepare for the holiday season, providing thousands of items like turkeys and fixings to the most vulnerable.

A big part of what we do is trying to match the need to the community, to different families.

Not everyone can have an oven big enough for a turkey even, or have somewhere to store that if that's too much food for them, for their families.

So we are very responsive.

We're always surveying people to see what kind of foods they want.

So different dietary needs, different nutritional needs.

Really trying to make sure that we have choices available for people.

In addition to those 85,000 turkeys, roosters and ham, 25,000 of these holiday boxes will be distributed throughout the month of November.

And each one includes a variety of nonporous food items.

With edge to bowls and cranberry sauce and stuffing and everything that people might want for their holiday meal.

Again, that's also culturally different in different areas.

So we work with our partners to figure out what what their community really is looking for for the holidays.

McCarthy says on average, they get around 17,000 volunteers at this location.

John Tillman is one of them.

Tillman has been volunteering at the food bank for 11 years right now.

Before I came here, I was in the what they call the pasta room.

And basically all they do in there is package and box our personal items.

Throughout the warehouse.

Signs like this keep Tillman and other volunteers motivated and mindful about why food banks are critical to so many before, during and after the holiday season.

Hunger has been with us forever and the need is ongoing and we have to address what's within us to help people in need.

I think the thing we most want people to know is that we're here year round.

Food insecurity is here year round.

The holidays is a great reminder and I'm not telling, you know, we're trying to discourage anyone from donating at the holidays, but come back in January, come back in February.

There's always a need and we always really need help from all of our neighbors.

McCarthy says while donating food is helpful, she says monetary donations are even more impactful as a single dollar can provide approximately three meals for a family in need.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Raven Santana.