#MissionMonday – Valentines for Food 2023

• DONATE: healthy, non-perishable food to our pantry, 12-16 oz. cans, no glass containers, please! Remember to check expiration dates.
  • Corn Flour (Maseca)
  • Canned Vegetables (low-fructose)
  • Rice
  • Canned Proteins (tuna, salmon, chicken, chili)
  • Canned Beans (low-sodium)
  • Peanut Butter
  • Cereal
  • Canned Fruits
  • Seasonings
  • Shelf-Stable Milk (Parmalat)
  • Honey
  • Vegetable/Canola Oil

• PARTICIPATE: in our Valentines for Food virtual food drive. Visit https://amplify.ampyourgood.com/user/campaigns/3983 to purchase food that will be delivered directly to Arm In Arm.
• CONTRIBUTE: On-line or by mail and remember that your gift will be DOUBLED thanks to the generosity of several Nassau Presbyterian Church members.
  • Arm In Arm: arminarm.org/valentines or by using the Valentines for Food envelopes in Nassau’s pew racks (make checks payable to “Arm In Arm” and note in the Memo: “Nassau”)
  • Nassau: https://nassauchurch.org/giving/give-now/or mail to 61 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08542 (make checks payable to “Nassau Presbyterian” and note in the Memo: “Valentines for Food”)
  • Contact the church office by phone 609-924-0103 or by email if you have any questions.
• VOLUNTEER: at one of our food pantries during the week. Email for more details.
  • to volunteer in Princeton
  • to volunteer in Trenton

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Did you know that in a single year Arm In Arm provides enough food for its clients to prepare approximately one million meals for themselves and their families? When you support Valentines for Food, you support Arm In Arm’s effective response to food insecurity in our area.

Our Princeton Food Pantry at Nassau Presbyterian Church

• Arm In Arm’s Princeton Pantry serves approximately 300-400 families on a regular basis. These are local families and seniors, many of whom are served bi-monthly through home deliveries made by volunteers to communities on: Clary Street, Witherspoon Street, Redding Circle, and Spruce Circle.
• In 2022 this pantry provided groceries to families through more than 7,800 visits and deliveries, this is more than four times our pre-pandemic number.
• Families receive fresher, healthier food and Arm In Arm has made a commitment to providing families with fresh produce on a regular basis. Our food budget has tripled since before the onset of the pandemic.
• Nutrition education is provided to community members including by virtual zoom classes in both English and Spanish.

Our Agency

• • Arm In Arm operates 2 brick-and-mortar food pantries in Mercer County, as well as a Mobile Food Pantry and Resource Center which is deployed to food insecure communities and neighborhoods 2-4 times per week. Brick-and-motar panties are located at :
    • Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton
    • 48 Hudson Street in Trenton
  • On the heels of the pandemic, the need continues and in 2022, over the course of more than 48,000 visits to Arm In Arm’s food pantries, and through mobile deliveries and grab ‘n go events in the community, people had access to healthy, high quality food for themselves and their families. This is more than DOUBLE our pre-panemic level.
  • People are coming more often: it is expensive to live in our area and hte food we provide helps to ease the burden, freeing up resources to covr rent, medical bills, car repairs, or even shoes for their children.
  • Donations of In-Kind Food from Food Drives are critical: Every grocery order includes approximately $20-25 of food that Arm In Arm purchases. This food is supplemented with $30-$40 of food that is donated by the local food bank and by communities like Nassau Presbyterian Church, Trinity Church, and Princeton Public Schools, who conduct food drives and donate much-needed non-perishables. This means that the value of a grocery order for a family is approximately $50-$60.
    • While some are food pantries occassionally must turn hungry people away, Arm In Arm has NEVER seen its shelves go empty, thanks to the generosity of its supporters.
  • Approximately one third of the people who receive food through Arm In Arm are under age 18.
  • About one fifth of Arm in Arm’s food clients are aged 60 and above. Many older clients live in community housing in Princeton and Trenton and receive food on a regular basis through Arm In Arm’s volunteer delivery service.
  • Arm in Arm provides fresh, local produce for its customers, much of it donated by farmers and farmers’ markets, and also from supporters of Yes We CAN! Food Drives; community, school, and church gardens; Whole Foods Market; Farmers Against Hunger; and our own community vegetable garden right in downtown Trenton!
    • Arm in Arm’s volunteer-tended vegetable garden produced nearly 900 pounds of fresh produce this past summer.
  • Arm In Arm supports the Robbins Elementary School in Trenton through the Princeton Area Community Foundation’s All Kids Thrive Program, which seeks to improve educational performance by reducing chronic absenteeism. The food and case management support we provide results in improved family stability and thus far, has led to increased attendance.