Food Drives bring needed nourishment directly to the community, help us provide many of our services, and save us money on labor and fees. You can participate at any level – with your neighborhood, your school, your workplace, or your entire community.
What we do: As a partner of the Nutrition Alliance, led by Mercer Street Friends, the goals of the Rise Food Pantry are to provide the homeless, working-poor, and fixed-income residents in the East Windsor Township and Hightstown Borough with the following:
- Access to healthy food
- Information on how to improve their dietary habits and health
- Case management services to uncover the causes of food emergencies and help them create a plan to overcome obstacles needed to be self-sufficient
2011 Outcomes:
- 580 bags of food were distributed each month
- 465 low-income families registered for food assistance
2010 Outcomes:
- 530 bags of food were distributed each month
- 382 low-income families registered for food assistance
We expect the number of clients and services to remain at this elevated level in 2012.
The 2012 Rise Thanksgiving Food Drive’s goal is to provide 300 struggling families with Thanksgiving Baskets containing a turkey with all of the trimmings and deliver 600 hot Thanksgiving meals on Thanksgiving Day.
How To Run A Thanksgiving Food Drive:
- Attach the handy-turkey (made by the Rise summer campers) and food list to any big box. Handy Turkey and Requested Food List for Thanksgiving
- Promote the Food Drive by telling your friends and co-workers or take a picture and post it on your Facebook page or website.
- Put the box in a conspicuous location like the front desk, cafeteria, or entry lobby and encourage everyone to fill it up!
Our target completion date for the Thanksgiving Food Drive is November 9th. However, we welcome donations of food as well as baby and personal products throughout the year. Please contact Julia, Rise Food Pantry Coordinator, at (609) 443-4464 to arrange a convenient pick-up or delivery to the Rise Food Pantry at 225 Franklin Street, Hightstown. We also welcome individuals and groups to volunteer in the pantry to help sort, prepare, and distribute the Thanksgiving baskets.