The food drive has become a Cranbury tradition.
By: Jessica Beym
The tables in Fellowship Hall are buckling under the weight of all the cans of food. Every nook and cranny is stuffed with groceries, and the stage is covered with bags filled to the brim.
But by Saturday, the Fellowship Hall in the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury will be empty as holiday baskets are picked up and delivered to about 50 families in need in Cranbury and neighboring towns.
"In the beginning I was worried we wouldn’t get enough contributions," said Chris Welch of Cranbury, a member of the Board of Deacons of the First Presbyterian Church.
This is the first year Mr. Welch has been a deacon and has helped to organize the holiday food drive, which helps to supply families in need with enough food for a happy Thanksgiving dinner.
For the past few weeks, the church has been collecting all the necessary items such as canned vegetables, cranberry sauce, boxed stuffing mix, pasta, tomato sauce, cake mixes, as well as non-traditional Thanksgiving food items.
The food drive has become a Cranbury tradition and is centered around Skeet’s Food Pantry of the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury and is organized by the Board of Deacons.
But, it’s an effort that involves the entire community.
Everyone from the local Scouts, to residents of Four Seasons, and members of the Lions Club have volunteered to help.
Two weeks ago, local Cub Scouts delivered paper bags to be filled with food donations to more than 1,000 residences in Cranbury, and a week later the Boy Scouts picked up the full bags and brought them to Fellowship Hall.
"The whole room is just covered with food, and there’s still more coming," said Mr. Welch. "It’s great; everyone is pitching in."
This week, Mr. Welch said the members of the church Youth Group helped to organize and sort the food.
"Everything is all sorted and ready to go. The Youth Group did the bulk of the work on Sunday, so there’s not much left to do," said Beverly Reddan, a deacon at the church.
She said help has come from throughout the community.
"The Cranbury community is just so generous," said Ms. Reddan.
Today (Friday), the volunteers are working together to assemble the holiday baskets, which will include frozen turkeys or chicken that the deacons purchased this week. The baskets contain more than enough food for each family to celebrate with a Thanksgiving feast.
Even after all the baskets are assembled, Ms. Reddan said there will be enough food left over to put together food baskets for Christmas.
The baskets will be picked up on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, but some of the baskets will be delivered to the families who are either sick or don’t have a car.
"It’s a touchy thing," said Mr. Welch, speaking about how the families are selected for the baskets. Each year, the deacons meet together to alter the list of families.
Ms. Reddan said approximately half of the baskets are going to families in Cranbury, while the other half will go to families in neighboring towns such as East Windsor and Hightstown.
Next year the deacons plan to reach out to other families in need by passing out fliers at other congregations or asking local families to call the deacons or the pantry with suggestions.
Skeet’s Food Pantry accepts donations all year and can be reached at (609) 395-0897.

