CRANBURY: Skeet’s begins food drive

By Natalia Knochowski, Staff Writer
   CRANBURY — Residents can help other families in the greater community who are in need of some extra assistance during the holiday season by donating nonperishable and Thanksgiving meal foods.
   The First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury’s holiday food drive officially started Oct. 18 and ends on Nov. 15, said Andrew Kremann, co-chair of the drive.
   The board of deacons is organizing the drive with the church’s Skeet’s Pantry, which distributes food monthly to families.
   Mercer Street Friends, a nonprofit that distributes food to Skeet’s, has also been a big help, Mr. Kremann said.
   All basic food items for a typical Thanksgiving meal are needed, including cranberry sauce, boxed potatoes, stuffing mix, canned vegetables, etc. Members and volunteers of the church will get fresh produce the day before Thanksgiving to include with the donated items.
   Other everyday food items, such as pancake mix and peanut butter, will also be accepted to the drive, said Mr. Kremann.
   ”We really want to feed (the families) past Thanksgiving Day,” he added.
   The Boy Scouts of Cranbury will soon start distributing fliers to residents of Cranbury. The fliers will state what specific items can be donated and what day the Scouts will be picking up the items.
   Residents can leave the food they wish to donate in a bag with the flier attached to it on their doorstep and the Boy Scouts will pick it up on the specific date the flier states.
   Food can also be donated directly to the church, located at 22 S. Main St.
   The Girl Scouts of Cranbury will be helping with sorting the donated food items, packaging, and decorating the baskets that will be given to families.
   ”We served over 100 families in the greater Cranbury Community,” Mr. Kremann said of last year’s drive.
   ”The people that came out – you could tell they were thankful and needed it,” he said.
   If anyone else is in need of a basket, Mr. Kremann added, he or she can contact the church at 609-395-0897, with name, city and the number of people in their family.