GLEN RIDGE, NJ — Eighteen local restaurateurs bearing trays of food, bottles of brew, et cetera, visited the Women’s Club of Glen Ridge this past Monday, Oct. 24, to provide sustenance for the annual OctoberFeast hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Glen Ridge. The restaurateurs set up in the first-floor ballroom, with a majority of those in attendance standing nearby, taking samples of everything within easy reach. Seating, a distance from the food but a more refined experience altogether, was in a small room across a hallway whose walls were lined with raffle items. It was the seventh annual feast in 10 years for the club; the event had been put on hiatus due to COVID-19.
“This is our first major event of the year,” Kiwanis Club President Sayydah Garrett said. “We’re very happy to be back. It’s our biggest fundraiser.”
Garrett said the money her club raises goes toward helping children both locally and internationally. The club provides for an annual Glen Ridge High School scholarship and this past year provided funds for a family to relocate from Ukraine to Poland.
“We also do food drives for local kitchens, and we have our twice-a-year collection of clothes and household items that go to Goodwill,” she said. “And we sponsor the Glen Ridge directory, which went to every home — that’s about 2,500 homes — last week.”
The Glen Ridge chapter of Kiwanis has about 25 members, Garrett said, adding that, worldwide, Kiwanis International is one-half million strong. Anyone interested in becoming a member of the Glen Ridge chapter can visit grkiwanis.com.
Photos by Daniel Jackovino
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