As the weather begins to cool and the holidays quickly approach, local organizations are taking initiative to fight hunger in the City of Trenton.
On Friday, November 20, 2020, The City of Trenton partnered with Rolling Harvest Food and its various community ties to deliver an emergency free food market. The event took place at the CURE Insurance Arena from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. There, around 1,000 boxes of nutrient-dense food were distributed to families in need, which is about 4,000 individuals fed.
Lines of cars wrapped around the venue as the Trenton Police Department directed traffic in conjunction with the event’s volunteers. In a joint effort, Rolling Harvest was able to run a smooth system over a two hour long period of distribution.
“This is not what we normally do,” said Rolling Harvest Founder and Executive Director, Cathy Snyder. “We developed this model shortly after COVID hit.”
As need began to increase during the devastating time of the global pandemic, Rolling Harvest, which is typically an on-farm, gleaning and harvesting organization, altered the way in which they cater towards hungry families.
“Right when COVID hit, people started giving us money saying, ‘please, do something,'” said Snyder. “We realized we have all these relationships with farmers and food producers and distributors, and this came together really quickly.”
Rolling Harvest is partnered with organizations such as Zone 7, the American Dairy Association, Solebury Orchards and the United Way of Greater Mercer County.
Friday’s distribution was the fourteenth time Rolling Harvest had run this pick-up style operation. With each free market, demand continues to rise. However, Rolling Harvest is prepared to face the need of the community. Snyder said, “We will continue to do this as long as we can.”