Skeet’s lends helping hand

Skeet’s Food Pantry prepares nearly 40 holiday food baskets.

By: Jesica Beym
   Once a month, Skeet’s Food Pantry in Cranbury gives out two bags of groceries and day-old bread to its patrons.
   And once a month, Fran Stewart, who runs the volunteer food pantry at the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury, knows that she’ll be seeing at least 20 familiar faces.
   "Most of them are elderly or retired and are on a fixed income. Part of the reason we give out the food at the end of the month is because that is when people run out of money," said Ms. Stewart. "It’s really meant to be a thing to tie people over."
   But the holidays and cold weather are here, which means money is tight and more people are coming to the food pantry.
   Just in time for Christmas, the volunteers prepared nearly 40 holiday food baskets filled with canned vegetables, dried pasta, sauce and frozen chickens or turkeys for a list of 32 local families.
   The boxes were given out Dec. 16, but Ms. Stewart said they made sure to have extra in case anyone else came in.
   "People will call the church to get on the list. But, of course, we won’t turn anyone away," said Ms. Stewart.
   Every month, about 35 families, mostly from Cranbury, Hightstown and East Windsor, come to Skeet’s Pantry to pick up the donated bags of food. Ms. Stewart said of those families, about 20 are regulars.
   Paul and his wife, who live in West Windsor and didn’t want to use their last name, are one of those families and have been coming to the pantry once a month for four years.
   About eight years ago, Paul and his wife took in their four grandchildren after the children’s mother, a drug addict, abandoned them, they said. Both Paul and his wife are retired and in their 70s. They said the children’s father is in and out of the hospital once a week and is unable to work because of chronic illness.
   "You hear about this in the news, and you read about it in the paper, and you never know," said Paul’s wife, who wanted to remain anonymous. "Other people have this problem, too. It’s not just poor people. It can happen to anybody. Fortunately, these kids have a place to go."
   Each month, the volunteers at Skeet’s give Paul and his wife two bags of groceries to take home to their family.
   "We really appreciate the fact that they do this. It’s been a tremendous help," Paul’s wife said as their son loaded the holiday food basket into the car.
   But in order to make ends meet, the family also visits another pantry in Hightstown.
   Ms. Stewart said it’s common for Skeet’s patrons to seek other help as well.
   "There are people that make their rounds, but I’m sure they do it because they need to. A lot of people in this state work one or two jobs and they just aren’t making enough," said Ms. Stewart.
   To qualify for state aid programs such as Head Start, the Food Stamp Program and the National School Lunch Program, citizens must meet the poverty guidelines set by the state.
   According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the 2005 poverty guideline for a family of four is an annual income of $19,350.
   When patrons come in looking for help, Ms. Stewart said, she tries to supply them with information about food stamps, other pantries or state programs.
   "They can’t quite make ends meet but are not poor enough to qualify for state aid. We’re really just kind of a bridge for marginal people," said Ms. Stewart.
   Marie, a client who did not want to use her last name, lives in a house with six other adults in Roosevelt and visits local pantries regularly, particularly Skeet’s. In the years that she has been going there, she said, the amount of food that is given out has decreased.
   "Now you come and you get your two bags and that’s it. I mean, it’s extra and it helps out. But it would help if people would donate more because there is a lot more people going to the churches looking for it," Marie said.
   Ms. Stewart said the Mercer Street Friends Food Cooperative in Lawrenceville, a food bank that distributes food and grocery products to a network of faith-based non-profit churches, supplies Skeet’s with about 80 percent of its food.
   Phyllis Stoolmacher, the director of volunteers at the Mercer Street Friends Food Cooperative, said they are seeing a significant increase in hunger problems in the region, which she attributes to high prices in gas and heating.
   "It’s a tough economic time for people who are just skirting the poverty level," said Ms. Stoolmacher. "People are donating to Katrina and are suffering from what’s known as donor fatigue. We have an increasing need and diminishing resources to meet that need."
   Through grants and donations, the Mercer Street Friends Food Cooperative is still able to help stock the shelves at Skeet’s. But local donations are constantly needed.
   Every Sunday there is a wheelbarrow outside of the First Presbyterian Church for members of the congregation to make donations. Skeet’s also takes food and money donations from community organizations and other residents and participates in the Partners in Caring program at the Shop Rite in East Windsor and the Middlesex County Food Organization and Outreach Services.
   "We find little donations here and there, so that’s always nice," said Ms. Stewart. In addition to anonymous money donations, Skeet’s also participates in the annual Thanksgiving effort of "Scouting for Food" in Cranbury.
   Local Scouts go door-to-door and collect bags of groceries donated by residents. The food is sorted and used to make Thanksgiving food baskets, which were sent to 45 families in the area this year.
   The remaining groceries from the "Scouting for Food" drive were combined with other donations and used to make the Christmas baskets.
   But the need for donations never stops. Ms. Stewart said more than anything else, the pantry is always looking for high protein items such as peanut butter, canned tuna, and beans or canned fruit and vegetables.
   Ms. Stewart said these items tend to be more expensive, but are more important than a box of pasta, because they help balance nutrition. In order to donate to Skeet’s Pantry, call the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury at (609) 395-0897.