February 6, 2019
The Community Foundation of New Jersey and many local nonprofits always make a big push to support food banks, food pantries, and other food security organizations around the holidays – but the truth is, hunger is present in our communities twelve months of the year.
It is why we are especially heartened by the work of our Mercer County Fund, which, when combined with the generous support of an anonymous fundholder, resulted in more than $81,000 in grant funding to Mercer County-based hunger and homeless organizations in 2018.
The 2018 grants made these specific projects possible:
- Twenty at-risk young people from Trenton were provided the opportunity to attend summer camp through the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County, at which they participated in curriculum focused on good nutrition, healthy cooking, and exercise.
- Five local residents were employed through the Delaware & Raritan Greenway Land Trust to plant, tend, and harvest food at the Capital City Farm in East Trenton, and then distribute that food to low-income families.
- The Bromley Center’s Teen Healthy Lifestyle Program, through CYO of Mercer County, motivated young people to develop a healthy lifestyle for the mind, body, and soul. The grant also helped to supplement the Center’s food pantry.
- HomeFront’s Resource Network program provided homeless and very low-income families with emergency food, clothing, furniture, and household goods at no cost.
- Mercer County’s homebound adults with limited economic and social resources received nutritious meals through the Meals on Wheels program. In 2019, Meals on Wheels will expand its programming into Lawrenceville.
- Additional emergency shelter and warm meals for the homeless were made available through Rescue Mission of Trenton, which also connects its clients to a continuum of services.
- The launch of a local diabetes prevention program through the Capital Area YMCA aims to reduce the number of new cases of Type 2 diabetes. The Mercer County Fund made a three-year pledge to support the program.
Click here for additional programs that are not only fighting hunger and homelessness in New Jersey, but also worthy of your support.