Princeton Food Pantry Needs More Donations As Requests Increase

Princeton NJ

20 November, 2020

1:31 PM

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PRINCETON, NJ — For the past 10 years, the Princeton Mobile Food Pantry (PMFP) has been helping residents in Princeton in small ways. But the pandemic and subsequent economic slowdown has revealed a stark reality of the affluent town – hundreds of families facing food insecurity. "If you drive through certain neighborhoods in Princeton, you'll find people living in cramped houses. They rent rooms with their families, they share a kitchen, share a shelf in the fridge. In winters they are cold, and, in the summers, they are hot," said Liliana Morenilla, the founder of PMFP. Landscaper, dishwasher, cleaning crew members, servers and other members employed in the service industry in Princeton, have been hit the hardest during the pandemic. With jobs drying up, they are struggling to make money to put food on the table. Since the pandemic began, Liliana and her crew of volunteers have been providing food for around 120 families – each with three or more members. Morenilla has been working for Princeton Public Schools for the past 10 years. A few years ago, she was included in the outreach department. Her job involves taking care of underprivileged children, mainly Latinos. "Ten years ago, I began bringing snacks for the kids at school. I saw them fight over the food, because they were hungry. It was difficult to watch," said Morenilla. She then contacted Mercer Street Friends, a Quaker-affiliated organization that has a food bank to help county residents. "I would go every Wednesday, load up my car with whatever they had – oranges, bananas, granola bars – and bring them back for the kids. Then parents began to come in. It got bigger and bigger," she said. Soon, Morenilla began to provide food for families in need. "They (Mercer Street Friends) gave us a truck and every week we would provide food for families. 70 people lined up at first, and then it grew," she said. Earlier, families would come to the Henry Pannell Learning Center once a week to pick up food items they needed. Since the pandemic, the pantry changed its deliveries to twice a week, and now volunteers deliver food to people's homes, to avoid crowding at the center. PMFP asks families what produce they want for the week. The requests are texted to Morenilla who then mobilizes a team of volunteers to help pick up fresh produce from organizations they work with. The donations are then sorted, packed and delivered to homes. Every week they provide three different bags to families – one containing produce, another with fresh protein and the third containing toothpaste, toilet paper, masks etc. – anything that the family requests for. "Our core team is of eight people. And then we have around 10 or more volunteers helping with packing, and 17 or more driving to deliver the packages," Morenilla said. The organization is also seeing an increase in homeless people and seniors asking for help. "We've partnered with other organizations like Cornerstone Community Kitchen. So when we get requests from seniors, we transfer those to Cornerstone. If they are single men, we send them to Princeton Mutual Aid," said Morenilla. PMFP has also partnered with Share My Meals, which delivers meals cooked in restaurants to those in need. But with the number of COVID-19 cases surging across the state and even in Princeton, PMFP is bracing for challenging months ahead. "Unfortunately, we don't have any financial support. We have enough to last us through the end of the year. If we don't get a big boost, we may have to end the program come January," said Morenilla. She however hopes that food donations don't dry up. "I got a call this morning from a farm in Lambertsville saying they have 18 dozen eggs to donate. I went and picked it up. The other day someone offered us a goat, and I said yes, I'll take it because people are hungry. It's incredibly sad, it breaks my heart," said Morenilla. With the Holidays coming up, many parents don't have a job and families will be in dire need of food. Here's a list of items the PMFP needs: Ground beef Chicken Onions Potatoes Carrots Avocados LettuceLimes Garlic Any/all produce Here are the details to make monetary donations: Cash, check, or gift card - please email [email protected] to make arrangements. Cash App - $pmfpantry PayPal - avoid fees - donate via your PayPal account using a bank transfer or PayPal balance, and select Sending to a friend. Venmo - @pmfpantry (last four digits: 7574) Zelle - [email protected] Morenilla says their work is not done as need remains high due to the ongoing pandemic. "The children have been gaining unhealthy weight because they have been eating cheap, junk food. We want to put a smile on the faces of these children and families by giving them fresh produce," she said. 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 [email protected]. Thank you for reading. Have a correction or news tip? Email [email protected] Get breaking news alerts on your phone with our app. Download here. Sign up to get Patch emails so you don't miss out on local and statewide news.