Drive-Thru Food Distribution Scheduled In East Windsor March 21

EAST WINDSOR, NJ — The Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) and Rise will host a drive-thru food distribution on Sunday, March 21 in East Windsor.

Around 100,000 pounds of groceries will be provided to 1,500 families from greater Mercer County area.

TASK and Rise are Mercer County-based non profit organizations that helps local families fight food insecurity and provide them with general assistance.

Since the pandemic began, food insecurity has risen throughout Mercer County. Rise noted a 300 percent increase in food pantry visits — topping over 1,000 visits each month.

Meanwhile, TASK reported serving around 10,000 meals every week — roughly an 80 percent increase in meal production over the same period last year.

“Soup kitchens, food pantries, food banks — we’re all seeing the same things,” TASK Executive Director Joyce E. Campbell said in a statement.

“While things are tough in the cities, the suburbs and rural communities are also struggling. TASK wants to further its mission and help those people, too.”

TASK and Rise collaborated on a similar event in October at Hightstown. While TASK supplied 65,000 pounds of food, Rise helped deliver it to the 1,200 families that attended.

“Since the onset of the pandemic, Rise has pivoted to the safe collection and distribution of foods, personal products, PPE and cleaning supplies in order to help hundreds of our neighbors each week,” said Leslie Koppel, Executive Director.

“This will be our 11th drive-through, and we are delighted to partner with TASK in order to reach more families.”

The distribution will take place at the Modway parking lot, 329 Wyckoff Mills Road, East Windsor.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. and food will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Each family will receive more than 60 pounds of groceries, including milk and juice; fish and poultry; paper towels; and a variety of fresh produce.

Participants need to follow social distancing guidelines while attending. Families need to remain in their vehicles to drive through the contact-free distribution line to collect their groceries.

What: Drive-thru Food Pantry

Where: Modway parking lot, 329 Wyckoff Mills Road, East Windsor

When: March 21, 10 a.m. onwards.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimated that in 2020, more than 50 million Americans would not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.