Rats invade NJ town’s food pantry, which is forced to relocate

🐀 Jackson Mayor Reina says he was not told about the rats at the food pantry

🐀 The pantry was moved in six hours to a new location

🐀 The regular location will be cleaned and repaired

JACKSON — Following reports that the township food pantry was infested by rats Mayor Mike Reina took several steps Thursday to keep it open in a new location.

The Lakewood Scoop was first to report on rats getting into food at the pantry at the Jackson Public Works facility. Photos showed lids of peanut butter jars being gnawed, cardboard boxes being chewed through and large rats being caught in traps.

"This situation places vulnerable residents who rely on food assistance in an unsatisfactory and unsanitary environment. We believe immediate steps must be taken to address these pressing concerns," Kuhn said in a statement released on behalf of the council," Jackson Council President Jennifer Kuhn told the Scoop in a statement.

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Mayor 'sickened" by report of rats

Republican Mayor Reina told New Jersey 101.5 during one of several phone calls on Thursday he was "sickened" to learn of conditions at the pantry.

"When the supervisor contacted me, I said there was nothing to think about. Get an exterminator over there and start making repairs and do whatever you have to do because I just can't pull a building out of thin air. I don't have any place right now that would be able to even maintain that type of operation," Reina said.

The Republican who has held the office since 2009 was upset that he was not told about the rat problem earlier so that he could have acted sooner.

"This is very, very important to us to make sure we're able to help those who need it. The food pantry's done an exceptional, exceptional job. I'm just disappointed to only recently find out about it. Otherwise, we would have been on it a lot sooner," Reina said.

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Six hour move

In the afternoon, Reina announced that the food pantry operation was moved to its original location at the township senior services building. Reina said that once he was aware of the problem, it took six hours to move and continue distributing food.

"Public works did a phenomenal job on moving everything on a moment's notice. The senior center director was great in giving us the old room back where people could still drive up and get their stuff. All the planets aligned and it was definitely a effort and I'm grateful for that. Township employees came together and we wind up finding a solution."

Remediation for the vermin will take place at the public works location. The space used by the food pantry will be decontaminated and repairs will be made to the structure.

The pantry is operated by volunteers, according to Reina.

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