Serving neighbors in need
Fighting hunger is a full time calling for a number of organizations in Ewing Township. These volunteer organizations are committed to combating food insecurity by providing perishable and non-perishable food items at no cost to residents in need, as well as hot meals to homebound individuals.
While many of us never have to worry about where our next meal is coming from, there are others who are not so fortunate and have to face that reality every day. Ewing’s food banks help to answer that need. Check out some of the local area resources below for more information.
Mercer County Nutrition Program for Seniors provides older Mercer County residents aged 60 and older, with nutritionally balanced and appetizing meals that are served in centers that bring people together for activities and social contact. In Ewing, seniors are served in the Hollowbrook Community Center at 320 Hollowbrook Road. Complete lunches are served Monday through Friday that includes an appetizer, main entrée, vegetables, bread, beverage, and dessert. This is a federally funded program. It encourages participants to make a suggested donation of $1 for their daily meal. Nutrition education/nutrition counseling is also available. For those who need assistance with transportation, prior to COVID, the Senior van would do drop off/pick up to and from the program. However, they are still presently doing curbside bagged lunches. They are looking at resuming in May for indoor meals. For additional information about this program contact Barbara Collins at 609-771-0181.
The offices of Meals on Wheels of Mercer County are housed at the Hollowbrook Community Center, 320 Hollowbrook Road. The program delivers meals to homebound individuals in the Mercer County area with the help of a large group of committed volunteers. Customers may receive one hot meal and an additional cold meal per day, Monday through Friday (holidays are excluded). A limited number of weekend meals are also available to weekday meal recipients. Meals on Wheels of Mercer County also offers nutrition counseling and education, shelf-stable groceries once a month, 'Blizzard Bags" for inclement weather, and pet food for recipients' furry companions. They currently deliver meals in East Windsor, Ewing, Hamilton, Hightstown, Lawrence, Princeton, Trenton, and West Windsor. For information on how to enroll, call 609-695-3483.
Other food assistance in Ewing includes the following food pantries:
- Food Pantry at Hollowbrook Community Center. Contact the Rev. Terry Collins, Sr. at 609-771-4251
- New Bethel Holy Church on Weber Ave. Contact them at 609-883-3979
- Faith Deliverance Cathedral on Keswick Ave. Contact Pastor Everett Kelly -at 609-637-9604
- Celestial Church of Christ at 46 Weber Ave. Contact 609- 771-9227
- Abundant Life Christian Fellowship at 1901 North Olden Ave. Contact phone number is 609- 883-9780
- The Shop at The College of New Jersey, 2000 Pennington Road. Their contact phone number is 609-771-2345.
Additional resources for those dealing with food insecurity include:
SNAP Food Stamps and Cash Assistance
This is New Jersey’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program which provides food assistance to families and individuals with low income. A benefits card is supplied to help them to buy groceries in most retail food stores and some farmers markets. Eligibility is determined by income and resources. Learn more about NJ Snap.
Ewing Helping Hands
Ewing Helping Hands was created to help Ewing families with children struggling to put food on the table due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. They have organized donations of perishable/non-perishable food items and accept monetary donations, store gift cards (such as from Halo Farms, Aldi, ShopRite, etc.) All items are porch drop off or any other arrangement adhering to social distancing guidelines. Make arrangements to donate using:
Directory of resources
Ewing Township also provides a directory of local area resources providing support to Ewing Township and the Mercer County area on our Social Services webpage located at https://ewingnj.org/local-social-services under “Serving the Hungry.” This directory includes volunteer organizations committed to combating food insecurity by providing perishable and non-perishable food items at no cost to residents in need, as well as hot meals to homebound individuals.
We do indeed hope that you never need to take advantage of these resources. However, if the need should arise, it’s nice to know that so many are answering the call to combat hunger in our community.