Schools

Princeton University's TruckFest Raises More Than $20,000 To Fight Hunger

Written by Princeton Human Services Commission:

The Princeton University TruckFest recently raised more than $20,000 to  be shared with Mercer Street Friends Send Hunger Packing and TASK, the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.

Princeton Human Services started the Send Hunger Packing program in Princeton last year when it became apparent that children in the school system were experiencing food insecurity.

In fact, we discovered that there were 12 percent of the school population that received free or reduced lunches. As a result, we partnered with the Princeton School Board and School District and Mercer Street Friends.  Collectively with a number of diverse and committed members of our community, the Send Hunger Packing Princeton program was conceived, organized and launched with operations that commenced at the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year.

With leadership from Rucha Gadre, Food Bank Director at Mercer Street Friends and Elisa Neira, Executive Director of Princeton Human Services and the newly organized Princeton SHUP board, 3800 bags of supplemental weekend food - have been placed in the backpacks of students in pre k to fifth grade whose families have chosen to opt-in to the program.  Unlike federal assistance  programs, SHUP in Princeton has no restrictions placed on the families who would like to opt in.

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In order to continue the program, fundraising efforts will be an ongoing process.  Recently and to that end, students at Princeton University, led by Justin Ziegler, Austin Sanders and Kathleen Cordrey organized what hopes to be an annual TruckFest on Prospect Road.  With the support of the eating clubs and the Pace Center, the event was held on Friday, April 25 where  11 food trucks were present. 

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The members of Princeton’s Send Hunger Packing board are grateful for this event and the beneficiaries of their generosity are even more grateful.  Coming up next is a fundraiser organized by SHUPP to be held in the middle of this September.  As the details are worked, more information will be published. For more information regarding the SHUP initiative, please contact the Princeton Human Services office at 609-688-2055.


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