By Amy Mandelker, Ph.D
PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: January 18, 2013
To: News and Community Editors
Princeton Packet, Central Jersey newswire
From: Amy Mandelker, Ph.D. Faculty Sponsor
609-240-8007
[email protected]
Re:
NJ Honors Students Launch State-wide"Share-the-Love: Gluten Free" Valentine’s Day Food Drive
Mercer County Student Claire Graja is Project Manager
Gluten intolerance affects an estimated 15% of Americans, including some of those who must access food banks or soup kitchens and who may face the nightmarish alternative of going hungry or eating food that will cause illness, even hospitalization.
To raise awareness about this problem and to encourage the community to make gluten-free food donations to their local food banks and soup kitchens, the Theta Lambda Chapter of the Eta Sigma Alpha National Homeschool Honors Society is organizing a "Share-the-Love Gluten Free" food drive this Valentine’s Day. In addition to setting up local collections in churches and synagogues throughout the state, from February 1-14, the Theta Lambda Chapter encourages the community to visit the website at http:thetalambdahonorsoci.wix.com/sharethelove-gfree to learn more about gluten and grain intolerance and related illnesses like celiac sprue. The chapter members ask their communities to make a special point of selecting gluten free products to donate to local food banks or soup kitchens this Valentine’s Day.
The project is directed by Claire Graja (18), a graduating Senior from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, who plans to attend college in the fall with a major in Medieval Studies and Art History. "When I phoned the various food pantries and soup kitchens, everyone was overjoyed as this is the slow time of year for donations plus gluten-free is becoming a huge issue and donations of this kind are few." Miss Graja organized her own Gluten-Free food drive at St. Paul’s Church, Princeton, New Jersey, in addition to heading up the Chapter’s public awareness campaign. A volunteer Teen Docent at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Miss Graja is a prize-winning author and was awarded the Arete Book Award by her Honor Society Chapter.
The other members of the chapter have set up gluten free food drives in their home counties of Burlington, Morris and Somerset.
http://thetalambdahonorsociety.wix.com/sharethelove-gfree
http://www.homeschoolhonorssociety.wordpress.com
Soup Kitchens and Food Banks in Mercer County Welcoming Gluten Free Donations
Faith Baptist Church Food Pantry
211 Kuser Rd.
Hamilton Township, NJ 08690
609-585-8196
Drop Hours: Call for appointment.
Jerusalem Baptist Church
150 North Clinton Ave.
Trenton, NJ 08609
609-631-0355
M-F Drop Hours: Call for appointment.
Lawrence Community Center
295 Eggerts Crossing Road
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
609-883-3379
www.homefrontnj.org
M-F Drop Hours: 8:30-7:00
Mercer Street Friends Food Bank
824 Silvia Street
Ewing, NJ 08628
609-406-0503
http://www.mercerstreetfriends.org/
M-F Drop Hours: 8:30-5:00
Mount Carmel Guild Emergency Assistance Program
73 North Clinton Avenue
Trenton, NJ 08609
609-392-3402
www.mcgtrenton.org
M-F Drop Hours: 8:30-4:30 (call before dropping donations).
Rise
116 North Main Street
Hightstown, NJ 08550
609-443-4464
M-F Drop Hours: 9:00-4:00
Trenton Area Soup Kitchen
72 1/2 Escher Street
Trenton, NJ
M-F Drop Hours: 8-5
F and Holidays 8-1
Www.trentonsoupkitchen.org
No glass containers, please!
Trinity Cathedral Food Pantry
801 West State Street
Trenton, NJ 08618
609-392-3805 ext. 100
Drop hours: Call for Appointment
Recommended Gluten-Free Products For Donations
Gluten can be found in everything, even tomato soup, and not all gluten-free labelling can be trusted. See our article about this at http://thetalambdahonorsoci.wix.com/sharethelove-gf#!living-gf/c16k8 . In addition to packaged and tinned goods—look for the Gluten Free Certified label—whole, unprocessed foods in non-perishable form (packages, cartons, boxes) are particularly welcome:
Gluten-free versions of crackers, pastas, cereals
Canned soups that are gluten-free
Canned fruits and vegetables
Packets of dried fruits
Canned meat, fish
Cartons of milk
Baby foods

