Council honors Diane Hutchins for decades of community service

The East Brunswick Township Council presented a proclamation honoring the life and work of Diane Hutchins, who the proclamation described as having "faithfully served as director of the Aldersgate Outreach Community Center in East Brunswick" and as a longtime advocate on food-security and donation partnerships. The proclamation, read aloud at the start of the Aug. 10 meeting, noted Hutchins' role in expanding a small church ministry into a broader community resource and said she passed on July 20, 2026 at age 78.

A family member who accepted the proclamation thanked the council and described Hutchins' decades of local service: "Aldersgate provided her structural support in way of a small thrift shop and food bank," the family member said, and asked the council to continue Hutchins' vision. Council members escorted family to the dais for a photograph and observed a moment of silence before reopening the meeting.