Skeets Pantry has begun Thanksgiving Food Drive.
By: Jessica Beym
As November arrives, Cranbury is preparing for the annual Thanksgiving Food Drive put on by the deacons of the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury.
Over the next few weeks, Cranbury residents will be working to put together holiday food baskets to be donated to families in Cranbury, Hightstown, East Windsor and other neighboring towns. So far, the list of families is 50 and growing.
The baskets will be full of everything from canned vegetables to cranberry sauce to cake mixes and boxes of stuffing.
In addition to the non-perishable items, the baskets will include items such as potatoes, onions and frozen chickens or turkeys.
"It includes all the necessities for a successful Thanksgiving dinner," Beverly Reddan, a deacon of the First Presbyterian Church and co-chair of the food drive, said.
The effort involves the entire community, not just Skeet’s Pantry and church members.
"The church is just the home base," said Ms. Reddan. "It’s really the whole community reaching out to help."
Area Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts will help distribute bags to doorsteps in the hope that a week later those bags will be filled with donations of food for the pantry. The Girl Scouts are baking homemade desserts to add to the baskets and the preschool children at the First Presbyterian Church are making holiday cards.
The Lions Club is donating money to help the church purchase turkeys, and chickens for smaller families, to add to the baskets. Seniors from the Four Seasons development are lending a hand by helping sort and package the baskets the weekend before they are given out.
On Sundays, a wheelbarrow sits outside for churchgoers to leave donations. There are also boxes in Fellowship Hall marked for donations.
In order to get the whole community involved, the Cub Scouts will deliver paper bags to more than 1,200 homes in Cranbury on Nov. 5 with fliers indicating the donation instructions.
"We’re poised and ready to go," said Scout Leader Jerry Yochelson. "We’re all working together on this."
The Scouts will leave two bags for each home, one for food and another for clothing. The following week, the Boy Scouts will revisit the homes to collect the bags from doorsteps, beginning at 9 a.m. Nov 12.
Parents and Scout leaders will help drive the troops around town and unload the collections at Fellowship Hall.
Nearly 5,000 pounds of donated food has been collected in the past. The amount is far too much to fit inside the room designated for Skeet’s Food Pantry, so Fellowship Hall will be used.
"People are extremely generous," said Mr. Yochelson. "The amount of clothes donated is equally as impressive."
Ms. Reddan said the 23 deacons involved with the food drive have been calling other churches to compile and update the list of families in need of the food baskets.
"It’s something we do to help each other out, especially during the holidays when money is tight for some families," Ms. Reddan said.
The weekend before Thanksgiving, all of the volunteers will gather in Fellowship Hall to sort the goods and separate them into make-shift baskets from recycled boxes donated by Chicken Holiday.
More non-traditional foods will be included in the baskets such as spaghetti, canned sauce, peanut butter, canned soup, juice and pudding mixes.
Ms. Reddan said people may donate turkeys given to them by collecting spending points at local supermarkets. Shop-Rite of East Windsor is also offering a discount to the deacons purchasing perishable items needed to complete the baskets. Money donations are also greatly appreciated, Ms. Reddan said.
"Money is always great," she said. "It can be used to buy the turkeys and chickens or other things that may be needed to make a basket complete."
Donations will not be sought after Nov. 16 so that the baskets can be prepared the weekend before Thanksgiving, she said.
The families are encouraged to pick up the baskets at Fellowship Hall on Nov. 19 between 9 a.m. and noon.
Donations to Skeet’s Pantry are accepted all year. There also will be holiday baskets assembled by the youth group in December. For more information, contact Beverly Reddan at (732) 251-3253 or Chris Welch at (609) 395-1011. Both are co-chairs of the event.
For more information about Skeet’s Pantry of the First Presbyterian Church, call (609) 395-0897.

