By Christine Piatek, on behalf of the Food Ministry

Imagine a world where everyone had enough to eat, did not go to sleep at night with hunger pangs, could afford the weekly grocery bill for themselves and their families, and could splurge on treats now and again, something many of us consider a second thought. Imagine a world that did not need food pantries and nonprofits to help people make ends meet. Sadly, that is not the world we live in. It is a dream to dream, a hope to hope; perhaps we can get there in our youngest children’s lifetimes.

In the meantime, we continue to do our part here at UUCWC. With financial support from the weekly plate and the Community Outreach Fund, the Food Ministry uses its budget to provide support to our community. The February 8th chili fundraiser to benefit the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) was one such effort. Through the generous donations of members and friends, the Food Ministry provided ninety bowls of chili and muffins for lunch and raised $529, all of which goes to TASK. 

Over five Sundays in November, the congregation donated more than 1,399 food items valued at $3,723 to five food pantries in Mercer and Bucks counties. We collected an additional $933 in food items on the day of Robin’s retirement. 

Another new project brought to UUCWC and the Food Ministry involves cooking turkeys for the Interfaith Food Alliance (IFA) in Morrisville. UUCWC member Susan Vigilante enlisted the Food Ministry to cook turkeys donated to IFA, which does not have a Serv-Safe commercial kitchen to handle this work. Susan piloted this project in the kitchen on her own a few months ago, and on January 23rd, Mike Muccioli and Jackie Thomas assisted in cooking thirteen turkeys and packaging them. Marcia Wittmann and Ron Iannacone delivered the packages to IFA for distribution to families in need. This project will be repeated as needed. 

Food Ministry members will travel to the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Trenton on February 24th to share a pizza dinner with Pastora Karen Hernandez-Granzen and an equal number of church congregants. Gathering for dinner at Westminster allows us to deepen our connection to the Trenton community as we explore additional ways to provide support. 

Ongoing projects include preparing and delivering a monthly meal to Luther Arms Senior Housing in Trenton, a monthly hot meal (September – June) for students and tutors in UUCWC’s Tutoring Program, and monthly Sandwich Supper Bags (October – June) for students in HomeFront’s Joys, Hopes and Dreams Program. 

To learn more about the Food Ministry, email us at foodministry@uucwc.org.