The Dine Below the Line hunger awareness event was conceived as a Rutgers Intern project in 2016 in partnership with MCFOODS, now known as REPLENISH, and has taken wing. 

REPLENISH has partnered with different pantries to move the event throughout the County each year.  The first event was attended by about 50 people and has continued to grow with 200 people attending the last in person event with guests including county and local government officials, county non-profits, local businesses, food pantry volunteers, parishioners, food pantry clients, and many other individual stakeholders in the fight against hunger. 

Dine Below the Line has transformed into a friendly cooking competition showcasing local food pantries and their impact in the community while taking items commonly found in food pantries and elevating them to a healthy, nutritious meal!

Previous Program Hosts:

2016       Christ Church Food Pantry, New Brunswick
2017       Aldersgate United Methodist Church Crisis Room Food Pantry, East Brunswick
2018       North Brunswick Food Bank and Our Lady of Peace Church
2019       We Feed – Woodbridge and St. Anthony Padua
2020      Paused due to COVID
2021       Held virtually with participation from St. Peter’s Spotswood, and chefs from New Brunswick and Piscataway
2022      First Presbyterian in Metuchen – in person and virtual
2024      Princeton Alliance Church, Plainsboro 2022     
2025      Alexander F. Jankowski Community Center, Perth Amboy

Thank you for attending the 2025 Dine Below the Line.

This year’s competition shook things up a bit, with three competing chefs and a surprise celebrity judge! We were lucky to welcome back Chef Brian Karluk of Steakhouse 85 who represented Raritan Bay Area YMCA in Perth Amboy, Chef Maricel of Maricel’s Kitchen who represented Grace for Dinner of Kendall Park, and introduce back Chef Doug Wilson, Dine Below the Line Founder, who represented St. Peter's Community Kitchen of Spotswood. Our celebrity judge, Tariq aka the TikTok famous “Corn Kid”, gave his hot takes on each round of food!

The chefs threw down their best cooking skills using staples found at these pantries to create unique, flavorful, and budget friendly dishes that wowed our taste buds!

Attendees, our County Commissioners, and Tariq chose Chef Maricel Gentile as this year’s champion!

For a recap of the event, check out the highlights above, and we can't wait to see you again next year.

Special thanks to:

All the volunteers, chefs, participating teams, and judges. The congregational communities of Grace Presbyterian Church and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Raritan Bay Area YMCA, Miller’s Rental, Rows for the Hungry, Steakhouse 85, Maricel’s Kitchen, Royal Neighbors, the City of Perth Amboy, and our special guest judge Tariq “Corn Kid”.

Dine Below the Line Committee Members: Nicole Adamousky, Jennifer Apostol, Nicole Correa, David and Cathleen Decker, Chef Maricel Gentile, Lori Jarvis, Chef Brian Karluk, Lilliana Martinez, Jennifer Roche, Dianne Roman, and Chef Doug Wilson.