Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK)

On Saturday, September 28, Run As ONE will host its 6th annual event to help the community, including TASK. Registrants can sign up to participate in a 5K or a 1-mile walk at Mercer County Park and will have the opportunity to enjoy music, food and fun for all ages. We are so honored to continue to be a part of this special event. All funds that go to TASK will be immediately invested back into the community to benefit our neighbors in need. Learn more and register today: https://letsrunasone.com/

We enjoyed an extraordinary turnout today at our annual Community Meal & BBQ! More than 550 members of the community joined us for a delicious meal, entertainment by TASK musicians and poets, and an opportunity to commemorate Hunger Action Month. Every day, TASK works hard to move the needle on hunger across the Trenton area. For more than 40 years, we have been providing meals as well as the programs and services our community needs to achieve a hunger-free tomorrow. There’s plenty of work still to be done, and we are grateful for your enduring support which helps us to continue to innovate, inspire and make an impact. Most of all, we are grateful for the sense of community that we have the privilege to build. Today’s meal — bringing together diners, staff, volunteers, legislators and community partners — was a perfect representation of what makes TASK so special and highlights our commitment to continue to turn hunger into hope! Thank you to everyone who made this event possible. And thank you to everyone who joined us for a meal! #hungeractionmonth

This Friday, after TASK's annual community meal & BBQ, we are privileged to honor a handful of community members who are partners in our fight against hunger. At 1:00pm, guests are invited to join us indoors as part of our observation of Hunger Action Month. TASK will recognize journalist L.A. Parker, optometrist Dr. Thomas Marino and the late Larry Apperson, a longtime TASK partner and community activist who helped to found Princeton Cornerstone Community Kitchen, for their contributions to the community. In addition, speakers during the indoor ceremony will also feature Mark Dinglasan, Director of New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate, and Assemblyman Anthony S. Verrelli, a powerful advocate for food security across NJ. Come for the food and fun, stay for the community-building! We hope to see you there! Pictured here: Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli accepts the Advocate of the Year Award from TASK in 2023, presented by (left to right) TASK Board Chair Pam Kelly, John Thurber and TASK CEO Joyce Campbell.

Today, TASK's food truck has reached a new milestone: 15,000 meals served! Since its launch in March, TASK's mobile meals program has been on the road serving up TASK's signature meals for people across Trenton. With a priority on serving people with limited mobility -- families with young children, seniors and the chronically homeless -- the truck makes its way to a variety of stops each week to serve our neighbors in need. "Like any milestone we achieve, it's bittersweet," says TASK CEO Joyce Campbell. "But we are proud to be able to remove barriers to healthy, delicious food and improve access to people across the city. With regular, consistent access to TASK meals, we know that we are moving the needle on hunger, and with 15,000 meals served since March, we know that the mobile meals program is working!" TASK's food truck is an important part of our goal to increase our meal service by 30% before the end of the year. To support the food truck and our continued growth this Hunger Action Month, donate today! https://lnkd.in/e8D9727Y

ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! Everyone is invited to join us for our annual community meal & BBQ next Friday, September 13! Between 11:00am - 1:00pm, TASK will serve a BBQ lunch under a tent at neighboring Capital City Farm. The event, which is open for free to the public, will feature a delicious TASK meal and music from TASK's band, The FunkTASKtiks, as well as spoken word poetry from TASK's creative writing participants. At 1:00pm, guests are invited indoors for a short ceremony to help us commemorate Hunger Action Month, a time when organizations like TASK seek to highlight the work we are doing to advance food security within our community. We are excited to feature speakers Mark Dinglasan, Director of New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate and Assemblyman Anthony S. Verrelli, a powerful advocate for food security across NJ. TASK will also honor some of its most valuable contributors over the past year including journalist L.A. Parker, optometrist Dr. Thomas Marino and the late Larry Apperson, a longtime TASK partner and community activist who helped to found Princeton Cornerstone Community Kitchen. No RSVPs are required. This event is open to all. We hope you can join us next Friday!

Amazing work from the team at Datacolor! These items help to supplement the meals we prepare and serve, ensuring that people have access to all the basics they need to thrive!

At TASK, we are so grateful for partners like Axiom REACH Foundation who help us turn hunger into hope!

Tonight at 7:00pm and 11:30pm on NJ PBS, tune in to see TASK CEO Joyce Campbell on One-on-One with Steve Adubato! Joyce will be discussing the rising demand for food and TASK's new food truck. Tune into NJ PBS to learn more.

Here at TASK, we are committed to learning! We were privileged to attend Catalyst Kitchens’ Northeast Regional Summit this month to meet with and learn from other member organizations that share our vision for a hunger-free tomorrow!

Each year, interns from Van Leeuwen & Company make a generous donation to TASK. We are so grateful for organizations that make supporting our community a part of their corporate culture!