The Ocean City Fishing Club will welcome the public to tour its pier twice this summer in hopes of breaking records set last year for donations to the local food cupboard.
The club joins a challenge made by Mayor Jay Gillian to donate non-perishable foods in memory of Regina Ralston, the manager of the Ocean City Food Cupboard, who died earlier this year.
The first open house is set for Thursday, July 25, while the second will be held two weeks later on Thursday August 8. The pier, located at 14th Street and the Boardwalk, will be open to the public from 6-8 p.m. both evenings. Pier visitors are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items or make cash donations when they tour the pier. The open houses coincide with the city’s Family Nights on the Boardwalk.
In 2023, 2,112 pier visitors brought 385 pounds of food and donated $1,924 in cash to benefit the local food agency. Each of last year’s two open houses at the pier broke previous records for donations to the Ocean City Food Cupboard.
“We’re glad to join the city in collecting food for the local food cupboard in memory of Regina Ralston,” said Tom Yucis, OCFC president. “We’re hoping the public will again respond generously and set new records for the amount we collect to benefit the needy.”
The OCFC food collection program began in 2013, when the fishing club celebrated its centennial anniversary. Previously, contributions were given in memory of Bob Roth, a long-time OCFC member who died in 2022 and who had a strong commitment to the Food Cupboard throughout his life.
Fishing club members will be on hand to guide visitors and answer questions about the pier and the organization. The pier extends nearly 750 feet from the Boardwalk, over the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. OCFC began a pier extension project in December 2020 to add about 113 feet to the structure. The addition was completed in Spring 2021.
The Ocean City Fishing Club is committed to community involvement through its youth fishing tournament, scholarship program and advocacy for recreational fishing. It is the oldest continually operating fishing club in the nation.
Photo by John Loreaux
