Freehold’s long-running Foodstock event continues to benefit local pantries

By:  | September 25, 2025 |  Philanthropy | 

by Emma Sylvia

You don’t need to go all the way out west to Burning Man or travel back in time to 1969 New York to find a worthwhile event to attend. In fact, you need not look any further than Freehold NJ, that’s the site of Foodstock, an annual event organized by Freehold resident Bob Swisher which aims to fight hunger for thousands of people locally. This year’s celebration takes place Saturday, October 18, from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Freehold Township Municipal Building.

Swisher discusses how the event came to pass, and how it’s exploded in popularity since its inception.

A Ton of Fun
 

In 2010, Swisher’s daughter, Maura was a junior at St. John Vianney and needed to complete hours of community service. She opted to volunteer at Lunch Break, a food pantry in Red Bank. She told her father that though the pantry was busier at the beginning of the summer, supplies were dwindling. 

Swisher knew they had to do something.

He was instantly inspired. As fate would have it, at a neighborhood picnic, he met the keyboard player of local band, Twice Is Good. Swisher asked him if the band would be interested in playing for a simple food drive that Swisher would be hosting at his house; the band agreed. Swisher called his first food drive “A Ton of Fun,” with the goal of raising literally a ton of food for pantries across Monmouth.

Their first year they raised 6,000 pounds of food.

“We said, ‘Let’s do it again,’” Swisher says, reflecting on the event’s success. The next year, they raised 13,000 pounds of food. Every year, the event got bigger; and after five years, the event was too big for Swisher’s backyard. They moved it to the Colts Neck Fire Station for one year before moving behind the Freehold Township Municipal Building, where it’s been ever since.

Passing the Torch
 

Each year, residents flock to Foodstock with food to be weighed. For every 25 pounds donated, a guest receives a raffle ticket for free Giants and Jets tickets.

“The town has been very supportive of our efforts,” Swisher notes. In recent years, they’ve been getting more than 100 volunteers at Foodstock, participating in food collection and distribution. 

Swisher hopes to keep Foodstock going for years to come.

Maura (now Maura Macauley) has moved back to Freehold, and Swisher’s son, Michael, has just moved to Colts Neck. With his children being local, Swisher is hopeful that the torch of Foodstock will be passed, and the younger generations will continue the good work.

“When we started doing it, our kids were in high school,” Swisher says. “My kids are grown and have kids of their own. There’s hope to get more younger people involved in it.”

The volunteers at Foodstock aren’t the only people involved with distribution. The trailer that the group uses is donated by Move For Hunger, which facilitates groups like Swisher’s getting food to people in need. Much of the food gets delivered to Lunch Break in Red Bank or Open Door Pantry in Freehold; additionally, Foodstock raises $10,000 every year for each of those pantries.

“Freehold Area Open Door is fueled by Foodstock all year long – not just during the big annual event!” says Geralyn Fraggetta-Drury, Director of Open Door Pantry. “It’s the constant, almost magical replenishing of our shelves, the turkeys that appear when we’re running short at Thanksgiving, and the steady encouragement that keeps us going. The Swisher family and the Foodstock team have grown a grassroots effort into a powerful movement, creating an army of incredible individuals. When I became director in 2018, I quickly realized how extraordinary they are. So much of our growth and ability to serve can be traced back to the strength of this partnership. I am so proud to partner with Foodstock.”

Gwendolyn Love, the Executive Director at Lunch Break shares Fraggetta-Drury’s enthusiasm.

“The Foodstock group are amazing people,” says Love. “They’re very generous, hardworking, and for well over ten years now, have been abundantly filling our warehouse so we can serve the community at a high level. We could not provide the quality of food to our community at this level without their help. We’re really humbled and grateful they chose Lunch Break many years ago to be one of the main recipients of their generous work.”

A Community Difference
 

The event is a hit every year with the community. Swisher recalls once when the high schoolers were loading up the truck, there was so much food that the truck nearly tipped over. After everyone was safely moved, a tow truck company came, pulling the truck out for free. Swisher recalls another time where it poured rain throughout the entire event, but they were still able to pull it off – with a crowd.

From a small event in his backyard to an event large enough to warrant hiring teams of people to set up tables, tents, kegs and more, Swisher is thrilled to see how far they have come.

“I feel very blessed,” Swisher says. “I have a great family; I have great friends in Freehold. The government body here has come together and supported us. It’s the feeling of being able to give back – that’s really what it comes down to. The day after the event, we’re able to sit back and say: ‘That was a job well done.’”

To learn more about Foodstock, visit FoodstockNJ.org

Foodstock will be held Saturday, October 18, 1-6pm at the Freehold Municipal Building at 1 Municipal Plz, in Freehold