Community Corner

Weekly Soup Kitchen Starting in Hightstown

Dinners will be distributed Thursdays from 4:30 to 6 p.m. starting Nov. 3.

Rise is teaming up with the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen and the First United Methodist Church to bring a weekly dinner distribution to Hightstown and East Windsor.

The soup kitchen, called “Rise to the TASK,” will be held Nov. 3 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. and continues each Thursday, said Leslie Koppel, executive director of .

“Rise is thrilled to be able to continue the delivery of the basics to struggling families in the Hightstown East Windsor communities,” Koppel said in an email.

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Dennis Micai, executive director of TASK, said the soup kitchen will start with around 50 free meals, but that number can change based on need. 

“If we need more, we’ll send more out because we’re pretty flexible that way,” Micai said. He also said if there is a demand for more than one night a week, and Rise and the church want to add additional nights, TASK can accommodate them.

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The meals are prepared at TASK, packed in a tray to keep warm and distributed to the satellite sites in Trenton, and now Hightstown, Micai said. TASK supplies all of the food, drinks and supplies. 

People can eat at the or take the meals to go, and one meal will be given per person, Micai said.

“The Rise Food Pantry serves over 400 families every month and we expect many of these families will stop by on their way home from work to eat in or take out a hot meal,” Koppel said.

Shortly after Koppel took over the role as executive director at Rise, Micai said he presented this idea and she immediately said it was a great idea and formed the partnership with the First United Methodist Church, where the food will be served.

“We’ve actually been looking for a partner out in Hightstown area for a little while now; our demographics indicate there is a need out there,” Micai said.

Koppel said United Way of Greater Mercer County cut the Rise Food Pantry funding, so they will have 40 percent less funding to serve 25 percent more people. 

“This partnership with TASK and the First United Methodist Church will really help our local families who wonder where the next meal will come from,” Koppel said.


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