Manalapan Special Needs Group Packs 100 Meals For Hungry Locals

MANALAPAN, NJ -Last month, over 30 participants at special needs nonprofit Friendship Circle of Central NJ in Manalapan assembled and donated 100 bagged lunches to residents in need of a meal. As the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to affect families of all economic backgrounds, the effort comes at a time when hunger is an urgent problem for 68,000 individuals in Monmouth County alone.

Led by Adwaith Hariharan, a sophomore at Biotechnology High School in Freehold, the bags were assembled on the evening of Nov. 16 by a team of 20 participants and 15 volunteers. Each lunch bag also contained a hand drawn note by the participants, a symbol of the care that went into each much-needed package, according to the event’s young organizer.

‘Unfortunately, food insecurity is a very real and scary situation that exists in our community, and beyond. Job loss and the economic crisis triggered by COVID-19 has exacerbated an already bad situation,” Hariharan said.

“Food Insecurity is a community issue and as such, each community needs to rise to the occasion, step in and lend a helping hand. This is exactly what was achieved through this giveback. Their smallest act of kindness was worth more than the grandest intentions.”

Related: Patch Holiday Food Drive In Monmouth: Give To Feeding America

According to the nonprofit organization Fulfill, Hariharan’s group effort couldn’t come at a better time. The food bank has seen a 40 percent increase in the demand for food since the start of the pandemic, having served 2.8 million more meals this year than in the same period last year.

Feeding America says that 80 percent of its food banks — or 4 in 5 — are also serving more people than they were at the same time last year. With the pandemic worsening during the holiday season, many people who never before worried about how they'd pay for a holiday meal are turning to food banks for the first time.

“This experience also provided the participants an exposure to a hands-on social learning activity and a vastly different experience that [participants] typically may not be involved in,” Hariharan said. “They led from their strengths rather than their weakness that everyone perceives when they hear the term ‘special needs.’ The atmosphere of a purpose-driven enthusiasm and spirit of giving made the chilly evening of Nov. 16 a roaring success.”

Hariharan first began his advocacy journey with the Social Skills after-school program at Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School, interested in learning more about interacting and assisting special needs classmates. “[It was] an opportunity to have fun and hang out with friends in a comfortable and safe environment [that] led me to the Friendship Circle of Central NJ,” Hariharan said.

The teen decided to create his own program in 2019 dubbed ‘Building Connections’, which fosters language and social communication skills in individuals with special needs. To the sophomore, it only seemed natural to incorporate a service-oriented activity so that participants learn the vital social and vocational skills while enjoying satisfaction of giving back to the community.

“I wanted to bridge the STEM gap that existed in the special needs community. By creating these opportunities to understand the nature of doing STEM in an inclusive environment while hanging out with volunteer peer buddies, I hope to engage and develop a love for STEM in a social setting within the neurodiverse population,” Hariharan said.

“I typically include an activity that generalizes a concept that was taught during each of my language learning sessions. This could vary from painting to playing a game or racing the various things we build with LEGOs. ‘One Hundred Lunch bags of Love’ giveback was planned as one such follow up activity. Why one hundred? Simply because while talking to one of the buddies at a session, when I floated the idea and asked what a good number was, he said, ‘one hundred!’”

Under the leadership of Hariharan, the successful event was several years in the making.

The high school sophomore recalls deeply resonating with the values of the organization when he first joined two years ago, including values of acceptance, inclusion, and friendship while encouraging respect and empathy for those facing challenges.

Hariharan, who aims to continue volunteering and advocacy for both neurodiverse and economically disadvantaged populations in college and beyond, had initially hoped to teach the participants social skills and make some friends along the way. However, the teen reports that he soon found himself learning more than he was teaching:

“They have taught me the true meaning of generosity and acceptance from my first fumbling session two year ago to my most recent one,” Hariharan said. “They have taught me the true meaning of grit, and it is a humbling experience. I hope that as a neurodiversity advocate, I can be a voice to advocate for the strengths and talents of individuals with special educational needs rather than focusing on what they can’t do.”