Family Safety
Storm-chaser roofing scams after NJ nor'easters: a 60-second test
A door-knock "roofer" after a Jersey Shore storm? Run them through this 60-second NJ contractor check before you let them on your roof or take a deposit.
Insights
Data-driven reports on energy poverty, climate justice, community resilience, and Monmouth-County business spotlights — written for families and the nonprofits that serve them.
Business Spotlight
Monmouth Business Spotlight: Tanliners Club & Spa in Eatontown
A parent-friendly guide to what Tanliners offers, how to plan a quick visit, and what to verify before you book.
Business Spotlight
Monmouth Business Spotlight: Retro Fitness in Middletown
A practical, family-focused look at Retro Fitness in Middletown — what they offer, how to plan a visit, and the questions parents should ask before committing.
Family Safety
Rip currents at the Jersey Shore: the 60-second safety plan for parents
A parent-friendly checklist for rip current and beach safety: the flags to look for, the quick script for kids, and what to do if someone gets pulled out.
Home Projects
5 Contractor Red Flags Every NJ Homeowner Should Know — and How LocalJobs Removes Every One
A 60-second checklist that saves Monmouth homeowners thousands in deposits, unpermitted work, and surprise change orders — plus a faster way to hire on LocalJobs.
Family Safety
5 contractor red flags every Monmouth family should know
A mom-to-mom checklist for home projects: the 60-second test to avoid deposits disappearing, unpermitted work, and fake NJ registrations.
Business Spotlight
Monmouth Business Spotlight: Rockit Academy in Lincroft
A live-music school on Brookdale’s Lincroft campus where kids (8+) learn, rehearse in bands, and perform real shows at local venues.
Business Spotlight
Monmouth Business Spotlight: Caruso Foot and Ankle in Freehold
A Freehold podiatry practice that's quietly built a loyal local following — what families with active kids, runners, or aging parents should know before they book.
Climate Justice
NJ Environmental Justice for Nonprofits: How to Read EJScreen and the Overburdened Community Rule
A practical guide for nonprofits to New Jersey's Environmental Justice Law and the N.J.A.C. 7:1C rules, plus how to use EPA's EJScreen to understand local environmental burdens.
Food Security
Drought-Resilient Growing: Practical Water Harvesting Lessons from Indigenous Dry Farming
A practical, fundable toolkit for nonprofits: soil organic matter, micro-catchments, and low-cost water harvesting inspired by Indigenous dry farming.
Food Security
Buffalo Restoration as Food Infrastructure: A Pine Ridge Food Sovereignty Blueprint
Buffalo restoration is not only cultural return; it can function as local food infrastructure when paired with processing, training, and market pathways that keep value in community.
Energy Poverty
From Utility Bills to Community Power
How elective pay (direct pay), incentives, and smart financing can fund solar + storage for nonprofits.
Energy Poverty
Community Energy Plans as a Resilience + Food Security Strategy
A practical playbook: use community energy planning to prioritize the projects that keep families safer during outages, heat, and supply disruptions.
Energy Poverty
Automatic Enrollment for Community Solar
A practical equity tool that can turn community solar policy into real, opt-out bill savings for families.
Energy Poverty
Direct Pay: Turning Solar + Storage Into Real Cash for Community Facilities
A practical funding pathway for resilience hubs, food pantries, and community centers: elective pay (direct pay), solar + storage sizing, and NJ’s community solar expansion.
Food Security
The Summer Hunger Cliff in New Jersey
More than 270,000 NJ children face food insecurity. Summer EBT, SFSP, and community resilience programs are the bridge between a school lunch and an empty plate.
Energy Poverty
When the Power Goes Out, the Family Fridge Becomes the Frontline
The FDA/USDA 4-hour rule, FEMA's Community Lifelines, and resilience hubs powered by solar + storage — what protects vulnerable families when the grid fails.
Food Security
When Housing Efficiency Protects Food Security
Energy-efficient affordable housing can lower bills, reduce shutdown risk, and keep groceries safe.
Food Security
Turning Food Grants into Resilience
How FEED NJ and Food System Enhancements can build climate-resilient food access.
Energy Poverty
Resilience Hubs That Keep People Cool and Connected
How solar + storage can help cooling centers work when the grid is strained.
Food Security
FEED NJ: A Practical Playbook for Food Access Projects
How a $30M grant program can guide climate-resilient food security work.
Food Security
Food Security Is Climate Resilience
What New Jersey’s 2026 Food Security Strategic Plan gets right — and how nonprofits can put it to work.
Climate Justice
Cooling Is an Energy Issue
What NJ’s Urban Heat Island grants teach us about affordability, resilience, and justice.
Food Security
From Disaster Recovery to Daily Resilience: How New Jersey’s Resilient Communities Grants Can Protect Food and Energy Security
What the Resilient Communities Program funds, why equity matters, and how local partners can turn hazard mitigation into household stability.
Energy Poverty
Community Solar as a Food-and-Energy Security Tool: A Practical Equity Playbook for New Jersey
An equity-focused playbook for using community solar to keep families stable through heat, storms, and rising costs.
Energy Poverty
Keep the Lights On: Why Energy Efficiency and Reliable LIHEAP Funding Are the Fastest Climate-Resilience Tools for Low-Income Families
Energy efficiency is the cheapest way to cut bills and prevent shutoffs — but only if core assistance programs like LIHEAP and NJ's USF can be relied on. Here's what the newest data says, and what nonprofits can do next.
Climate Justice
The Plan Is Approved. The Power Still Goes Out: What Monmouth County’s 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan Means for Energy Resilience
Monmouth County has an approved 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan — but resilience is only real when families can keep the lights on during heat waves, floods, and outages. Here’s what the plan signals, what the data says, and where community-led energy relief fits.
Energy Poverty
The Utility Assistance Gap: Why NJ Programs Still Leave Families One Bill Away from Crisis
NJ helped 249,714 households with LIHEAP in FY2024, but typical support covered just 13% of annual energy bills. As bills rise, the gap between need and relief is becoming a crisis pipeline.
Energy Poverty
Grant Dollars That Keep the Lights On
How NJ programs can help nonprofits retrofit buildings and protect food access.
Food Security
329,000 Meals and Counting: The Volunteer Safety Net Holding Monmouth County Together
500 volunteers deliver 329,000 meals a year to seniors. Behind every stat is a neighbor who showed up. Here's what community resilience looks like in Monmouth County.
Climate Justice
When the Heat Comes: Cooling Equity and the Summer Crisis Ahead for New Jersey
Heat deaths are up 117% nationally. Renters are 2x less likely to have AC. Monmouth County faces 15 extreme heat days within a generation. This is a climate justice emergency.
Energy Poverty
The Clock Starts Now: 283,000 NJ Families Lose Shutoff Protection Today
NJ's Winter Termination Program expires today. 283,738 households that were shielded from utility disconnection all winter now face the bills they couldn't pay.
Transparency
Where Your Dollar Goes: The Case for Radical Nonprofit Transparency
Americans gave $592.5 billion to charity in 2024 — a record. But only 19% of first-time donors ever return. Transparency is the bridge between a one-time gift and a lifelong partnership.
Food Security
One Block, One Borough: How Throckmorton Street Holds Freehold Together
A food pantry, a lunch program, emergency housing help, and an after-school program -- all on one block. Inside Freehold's quiet engine of community resilience.
Climate Justice
Five Million and Overlooked: Climate Injustice in New Jersey's Overburdened Communities
Nearly 5 million NJ residents live in communities overburdened by pollution and climate risk. Monmouth County has 103 such block groups. Here's what the data reveals.
Energy Poverty
The Hidden Crisis: Energy Burden on New Jersey Families
455,000 NJ families received energy assistance — but 80% of eligible households are still left behind. Here's what the data tells us.
Business Spotlights by category
Pediatric health
Published
Queued
- The Kaga Academy of Aesthetic and Concierge Medicine (Shrewsbury)
- Teeth Tamers Orthodontics (Englishtown)
- My Insta Doc Urgent Care Of Howell (Howell)
- Marc H. Berley, DMD (Ocean Township)
- Rowe Plastic Surgery (Red Bank)
- Furey A. Lerro, M.D., Psychiatry (Red Bank)
- VSN Dental PC (Manalapan)
- Connolly Dermatology (Holmdel)
- Glamorous Smile Dental Spa (Neptune City)
- Twin Boro Physical Therapy ()
Kids activities
Published
- None yet
Queued
- Rockit Academy (Lincroft)
- Retro Fitness (Middletown)
- Retro Fitness (Freehold)
- Retro Fitness (West Long Branch)
- Retro Fitness (Manasquan)
- Retro Fitness (Neptune City)
- Retro Fitness (Matawan)
- Retro Fitness (Lincroft)
- Pure Barre (Red Bank)
- US Taekwondo Center (West Long Branch)
Fitness studios
Published
- None yet
Queued
- Retro Fitness (Middletown)
- Retro Fitness (Freehold)
- Retro Fitness (West Long Branch)
- Retro Fitness (Manasquan)
- Retro Fitness (Neptune City)
- Retro Fitness (Matawan)
- Retro Fitness (Lincroft)
- Pure Barre (Red Bank)
- StretchMed (Holmdel)
- F45 Training ()
Salons
Published
- None yet
Queued
- The Art of Hair Salon ()
- Tanliners Club & Spa (Eatontown)
- Supercuts (West Long Branch)
- Nail Club (West Long Branch)
- Salon Concrete (Holmdel)
- Exclusive Cuts Barbershop ()
- Evolve Med Spa (Red Bank)
- Evolve Med Spa ()
- Broad Street Barbers (Red Bank)
- Larry Cadillac (Asbury Park)
Home services
Published
- None yet
Queued
- Tiger Foam Insulation (Spring Lake)
- Corbin Electrical Services (Marlboro)
- Breeze Heating and Air Conditioning (Matawan)
- 1st Choice Air Comfort AC & Furnace Repair (Manasquan)
- Ecological Systems (Howell)
- In The Garden ()
- ACS Cleaning Service Inc. (Freehold)
- Kingz Transportation ()
- Marathon Data Systems (Neptune)
- Commvault ()
Kids retail
Published
- None yet
Queued
- Learning Bridge Academy (Freehold)
- Little Chicken ()
- Milan's Children's Gift Market ()
- The Gathering Shops ()
- Velvet Boutique (Holmdel)
- Dor L'Dor (Red Bank)
- The Train Doctor (Eatontown)
- Lucki Clover (Red Bank)
- Holmdel Montessori ()
- Kiddie Academy of Neptune (Neptune Township)
Realtors
Published
- None yet
Queued
- Melissa DeSantis Real Estate Experts @ Remax Central (Manalapan)
- Peter Cunha Real Estate Team (Belford)
- General Referral (Holmdel)
- Danielle Coyle, Realtor - The Coyle Real Estate Team (Tinton Falls)
- Middletown Walk Sales Office (Middletown)
- The Ridge at Suneagles (Eatontown)
- The Connolly Agency (Avon-by-the-Sea)