Thanksgiving For 3,500? Ocean County Vo-Tech Students, Grads Cook Up A Feast

BRICK, NJ — There are few challenges like making Thanksgiving dinner. Cooking a turkey with all the sides and trimmings tests the culinary skills of people all over.

This week, the culinary students at the Ocean County Vocational Technical School’s Brick Center got to test their skills as they cooked more than 3,500 Thanksgiving meals for those in need.

The OCVTS Brick Center partnered with Fulfill and RWJ Barnabas Community Medical Center to make the meals that are being distributed through various local social service agencies such as Preferred Behavioral Health, Inspire NJ, Golden Opportunities Outreach, and numerous local churches.

Here's what it took to create the more than 3,500 meals that included turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, and gravy:

• More than 450 turkeys (totalling more than 3,000 pounds)
• 1,500 pounds of potatoes
• 1,200 pounds of sweet potatoes
• 850 pounds of stuffing
• 450 pounds of green beans
• 90 gallons of gravy

The meals were prepared by current Culinary Arts students from the Brick Center, under the direction of their instructors, along with several graduates of the program, vocational school officials said.

"Many of these graduates who are currently employed in the culinary field take time off from their work schedule in order to volunteer to be part of this extraordinary project," OCVTS officials said.

The meals are packaged through a massive assembly line set-up.

"It is truly impressive to witness," officials said.

The annual community service project, which started more than 20 years ago, is paid for through fundraising by the OCVTS Foundation, combined with donations from Fulfill, RWJ Barnabas Health, and financial contributions from the public.

Fulfill provides all of the turkeys, RWJ Barnabas Community Medical Center provides all of the additional food items and the Ocean County Foundation for Vocational Technical Education provides the packaging and containers needed for distributing the meals.