Fisherman's Mark Feeds Thousands In New Hope Area During COVID

LAMBERTVILLE, NJ — In January, Jennifer Williford took the reins as executive director of Fisherman's Mark, a nonprofit focused on feeding the hungry and other services in the New Hope area. Two months later, the coronavirus hit.

"I had no idea that, within two months, I would be so very challenged," said Williford, who joined Fisherman's Mark after more than two decades working for nonprofits, including the YMCA.

The group, based in Lambertville and celebrating its 40th anniversary, saw 300 new clients come to its food pantry between March and June, with a 30 percent overall increase in pantry usage. Area residents reached out for help with unemployment, inability to pay rent and other pandemic-related issues, Williford said.

Operations of the group's pantry, at 37 S. Main St. in Lambertville, had to shift from a grocery-store style setup to "no-touch" service, with prepared bags of food for distribution.

But, at the same time, the community stepped up. Food drives, money donations and other help allowed Fisherman's Mark to keep up with demand and keep its pantry shelves well stocked. According to Williford, more than 1,000 children have been fed through the group's Feeding Local Youth program — largely with the help of a single challenge grant.

Last month, the group prepared more than 200 Thanksgiving meals for area families, with the help of other local groups including the Boy Scouts, the City of Lambertville, McCaffrey's of New Hope, ShopRite of Flemington and others.

"Here we are in December, our numbers have stabilized and we have adjusted to our 'new normal,' " Williford said.

But December also finds Bucks County, like much of the nation, in the grip of a renewed surge of the virus. Last week, Bucks County reported a record 2,417 new COVID-19 cases, along with 23 new deaths from the coronavirus.

More than a half-million Pennsylvanians are receiving additional unemployment benefits created in response to the pandemic. Those federal benefits are due to expire on Dec. 26.

"We do believe that we will see another surge in our pantry numbers over the next few months and we have great concerns that the number of our clients in crisis will increase," Williford said.

To help, you can visit the Fisherman's Mark website for information on how to donate, volunteer, host a fund drive, create a business-community partnership and more.

"We are so very proud of the work we do here," Williford said. "We know that our efforts go a very long way in helping our vulnerable neighbors and we do know that our clients have such gratitude."

This story is part of Patch's Headlining Hope series, which profiles local nonprofits and charitable organizations in need of volunteers and resources. If you know of a local organization that should be profiled, contact doug.gross@patch.com.

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