by Alex Lloyd Gross
Philanthropist Gene Epstein partnered with the Bristol Township and Bristol Borough Police to hand out $100.00 bills at the Fresh Connect, Opportunity Council food drive today in Bristol Township. Every week, people line up near the amphitheater on the grounds of the Bristol Township complex on Bath Road for food. Today, those people got a bonus, a crisp $100.00 bill in cash.
From about 8:00 AM, some residents line up, they are there every week. They are the early birds. The event does not happen until 11:00 AM. They watch as trucks carrying food show up and tables are put together. Volunteers stand behind them and hand out produce. Today, people sensed something was different,when several police cars pulled up.
Officers were given boxes with $10,000 in them, each bill put inside an envelope There were four lines of people getting food. Once they got what they needed, the officer would hand them a green envelope with the cash inside. If the people in line registered, they were given a number, which corresponds to the size of the house hold. That determined the amount of food they got.
With food stamps being cut for over a month, people needed extra help, which is why Epstein was doing this. He has been doing this . for decades, first by giving out holiday meals. “I sold an antique car to do this and it’s a shame this had to happen, people need food on their table and need money to pay bills, “Epstein said.
With the democrats and republicans playing tiddlywinks over the government shutdown, millions of people starved and could not get their EBT cards loaded. This donation of $100.00 helps people. Not everyone who gets in line is on government assistance. Some are underemployed or perhaps they needed an extra boost this holiday season.
To prevent a run on people calling their friends to come up to get free cash, recipients had to pre-register. Those that came late were not guaranteed to get anything. The supply of money was limited and once it was gone, that was it.
The look on some peoples faces when they got that envelope is worth more than a classic car.