Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes is calling for county employees and other members of the public to come to the aid of the Crisis Ministry of Trenton and Princeton, which suffered a devastating fire at its Trenton location in December.
Non-perishable foodstuffs and personal care items can be left at three locations through the end of January. The McDade Administration Building at 640 South Broad Street, Trenton; Mercer County Connection at Route 33 at Paxson Avenue, Hamilton, in the Acme Shopping Center; and the Mercer County Park Commission Office at 197 Blackwell Road, Pennington.
Donations have been pouring in to replenish the ministry, which helps support area residents with food and other supplies. The entire food pantry was burned and the administrative offices were deemed uninhabitable after the December 16 blaze. The pantry is the base of operations for the charity’s hunger prevention program and the fire spoiled roughly 30 tons of food.
The ministry temporarily relocated a few doors down from its East Hanover Street site to 117 East Hanover Street.
Mercer County provided shelves from the Mercer County Library System; County Office of Information Technology assisted by facilitating computer and phone access; and desks, chairs, and file cabinets from the McDade Administration Building were loaned.
The Crisis Ministry also has satellite food pantry locations at 400 Hamilton Avenue, Trenton; and at Nassau Presbyterian Church, Nassau Street, Princeton. Call the Crisis Ministry at 609-921-2135 for drop-off times or go to www.thecrisisministry.org
Church & Dwight, the manufacturer located at 469 North Harrison Street, has given $100,000 to the Crisis Ministry to fund its charitable programs and help recover from the fire.
Angela Olsen of Church & Dwight presented the grant to Crisis Ministry co-chair Thalia Mingo and executive director Carolyn Biondi on December 30.
Church & Dwight, makers and marketers of Arm & Hammer products, have also given several major gifts to other Mercer charities this year, including a $75,000 grant to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen and a $50,000 award in support of the Rescue Mission of Trenton.
Company employees also added $10,000 to a corporate gift of $75,000 given to the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank.
