TASK and its partners help thousands of people across Trenton celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday in the face of surging food insecurity nationwide
For 43 years, Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) has worked hard to ensure that people throughout the community have a Thanksgiving meal to enjoy.
For weeks, TASK Director of Culinary Services, Chef Adam Livow, and his hard-working kitchen staff have been busy prepping TASK’s Thanksgiving menu. If you or a loved one are in need of a meal on Thanksgiving Day, TASK will be open from 10:30am – 12:45pm. All are welcome, no questions asked.
This year’s signature meal, which is one of the most popular of the year, will feature southern-style turkey wings, collard greens, sweet potato casserole, Jalapeño cornbread, stuffing and gravy. This hearty meal will be rounded out with delicious sides, including three-bean salad, macaroni salad and cranberry sauce. Additional treats include our signature salad bar, coffee and tea service and an assortment of pies – all served by staff and a group of amazing volunteers. While people can choose to take their meal to go, those who dine in will also receive a takeout dinner since so few places are open on Thanksgiving Day.
Diners aren’t the only ones who make TASK an annual tradition. Thanksgiving at TASK is made possible by countless partners across the region who work for months leading up to the holiday to raise financial contributions and run donation drives to assist in this massive effort. From pie donation drives to 5K fundraisers, members of the TASK community have been planning, shopping and donating in order to help their neighbors in need. Some, like the families from Pennington’s Toll Gate Grammar School, have been helping make Thanksgiving special at TASK for 40 years!
TASK expects to serve more than 500 people on Thanksgiving Day at its Escher Street dining room, but the soup kitchen will provide much more throughout the community in honor of the holiday. Throughout the week, TASK has also provided roughly 2,000 Thanksgiving meals to more than 50 community meal sites across Trenton and the greater Mercer County area.
In addition, approximately 500 households across Trenton received “Thanksgiving at Home” baskets this week as part of TASK’s annual holiday program, which is funded with the help of a generous donation from the Geltzer Family Foundation.
David and Leslee Geltzer, who have provided funding to the program since its inception in 2006, have helped serve Thanksgiving meals to more than 15,000 people. “We are so pleased to help families in need enjoy a turkey dinner with all the trimmings to celebrate at home,” the Geltzers say.
TASK staff and volunteers once again partnered with local Amazon employees to hand-deliver packages containing the turkey and all of the trimmings necessary to create a bountiful Thanksgiving meal. Each “basket” included a frozen turkey, gravy mix, stuffing, cornbread, veggies, macaroni and cheese, apple juice, pie and even a roasting pan — everything recipients need to enjoy a holiday meal in the comfort of their own home!
“Thanksgiving truly showcases the impact we can have when people come together in partnership and service,” says TASK CEO Amy Flynn. “With the current atmosphere of uncertainty, it feels especially important to be able to provide people with the opportunity to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal that is worth celebrating. The opportunity to serve our community in this way, at this moment, is a profound gift.”
These days, food insecurity is growing rapidly across the country and particularly in areas like Trenton where more than one-quarter of residents – and more than one-third of children – are living below the federal poverty level. TASK is currently preparing and delivering roughly 12,500 meals each week to more than 50 community meal sites across the greater Mercer County area. And the soup kitchen continues to break new records each month. In October, TASK served more than 60,000 meals — the most ever in one month in its 43-year history. In all, TASK expects to serve more than 3,000 Thanksgiving meals this year across all of its meal service programs.
TASK, which has been serving the Mercer County region since 1982, serves more than 12,500 meals, six days per week, in Trenton and more than 50 community meal sites throughout Greater Mercer County. In addition, TASK offers a multitude of resources to encourage self-sufficiency and improve quality of life including case management, education, workforce development, creative arts and the provision of basic necessities.