The Lakewood Police Department and the Lakewood Community Coalition are bringing back their pre-Thanksgiving soup kitchen and coat drive this year, The Lakewood Scoop reported on October 22, 2026, and the coat drop-off is open now.
The giveaway is Saturday, November 14, from 10 a.m. to noon in Town Square, at 3rd Street and Clifton Avenue, next to police headquarters. Hot soup, jackets and coats are free to anyone who needs them.
How to give
Most of the coats come from the public. New or gently used coats and jackets in every size and style can be left at any hour in the donation bin in the lobby of police headquarters, 231 3rd Street, through Friday, November 13.
Township Committeeman Meir Lichtenstein, who serves as the township's emergency services liaison, credited the department, the coalition and their nonprofit partners for putting the day together. He said the officers involved treat public service "as a goal, rather than a job."
A drive with a long history
The event goes back more than a decade. In 2015, a township notice described the sixth annual winter coat drive run by the department's police union, PBA Local 71, with coats handed out at an open-air soup kitchen in Town Square. By 2018, the department was announcing the ninth annual soup kitchen and coat drive, with donations collected in the same lobby bin.
In recent years it has been run with the Lakewood Community Coalition and has grown. At the November 2024 event, the department reported that more than 500 coats were given out and a great many bowls of soup were served on a windy day. Local churches, the New Jersey State Police, the Ocean County Sheriff's Office, Ocean County College, the county health department and hospital volunteers all took part.
Who is behind the coalition
The Lakewood Community Coalition brings police, faith leaders, elected officials, community groups and residents to the same table. According to the department, it works on safety and inclusion for all Lakewood residents and responds to bias incidents. It is co-chaired by Police Captain Steve Allaire and Dr. Cori Scotti of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, and it meets every quarter. At its May 2026 gathering at the Strand Theater, the coalition honored volunteers who run the township's Code Blue warming center on the coldest nights of winter.
Police Chief Gregory Meyer was recognized in 2024 for his work building the coalition. The officers who started this drive through their union more than fifteen years ago are still behind it, and it has become one of the township's most familiar fall traditions.
How we reported this: based on a Lakewood Scoop report published Oct. 22, 2026; Lakewood Police Department posts from 2018, 2024 and May 2026; and a 2015 Lakewood Township notice. We did not find coat totals for any year other than 2024, and this year's partner list was not published. Police and fire departments running community drives can reach us at [email protected].