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Jenny Silverman, coordinator for the Yes We CAN! Food Drives at the West Windsor Farmer’ls Market, moved to Santa Fe this past summer and “the coordinating committee now needs four people to take her place,” laments Liz Cohen, chairperson of the committee.
Jenny’s dedication in the last two years in coordinating the food drives at the farmer’s market has resulted in the collection of 13,000 pounds of fresh produce for the 3,000 clients who come to The Crisis Ministry each month for free food.
Since Yes We CAN! Food Drives began collecting food for The Crisis Ministry food pantries in late 2008, Jenny has been front and center in fighting to provide food for those in need in Mercer County. “She has led food drives at area grocery stores and the farmer’s market with gusto and dedication,” continues Liz, “and has enthusiastically developed relationships with farmers and other food providers.”
Always looking for new ways to bring fresh food onto the shelves of the Crisis Ministry pantries in Princeton and Trenton, Jenny has reached out to two Lawrenceville bakeries, Village Bakery and Maidenhead Bagel Company, both of which generously donate large amounts of bread, pastries and bagels on a weekly basis.
Now, Jenny will be putting her many talents to work as a community volunteer in Santa Fe when she moves to her new home in July to live with her girlfriend, Rachel Cardon, a chef at an assisted living residence.
In an earlier stay in Santa Fe, Jenny volunteered with Kitchen Angels, an organization that provides gourmet meals for homebound, chronically ill clients. She will continue working with Kitchen Angels, as well as becoming active in the Santa Fe Alliance, a business association that seeks to educate the public about the benefits of supporting locally grown and prepared foods.
Jenny says she will miss Princeton and “all the goings on with my friends and family.” Not nearly as much as Yes We CAN! Food Drives and her many dedicated fans will miss her!
Hear this, Santa Fe! Your gain is our loss.
Our very own Liz Cohen, founder of Yes We CAN! Food Drives, was one of four women to receive the Mercer County Women of Achievement Awards in recognition of her volunteer contributions to Mercer County. The award was presented November 9th by Brian M. Hughes, Mercer County Executive, at Mercer Oaks Golf Club.
Sponsored by the Mercer County Commission on the Status of Women, the award recognizes women who volunteer their time, resources and expertise for the betterment of their community. And Liz certainly fits that category!
While Liz has volunteered in a number of capacities, it is her work on behalf of Yes We CAN! Food Drives that garnered attention. Following the 2008 presidential election, Liz brought together a grassroots group with the purpose of helping to eliminate hunger in Mercer County.
On a regular basis, volunteers from Yes We CAN! conduct food drives at area supermarkets and farmers’ markets to help restock the Crisis Ministry food pantries, which are located in Trenton and Princeton. Each month, the pantries provide free food for over 3,000 individuals, including 1,000 children.
Our dedicated Yes We CAN! volunteers stand outside the markets and ask shoppers to purchase some extra food to help support the Crisis Ministry Hunger Prevention Program. This year alone, our group has collected an amazing 44,761 bags of food, which translates to 22.4 tons! Generous shoppers have also given $4,300 in cash donations which the Ministry uses to purchase additional food.
Since Yes We CAN! first began collecting food, our group has donated a total of 52 tons of food!
Liz Cohen had this to say upon accepting her award:
I accept this award on behalf of our amazing volunteers. These individuals support the most vulnerable members of our community by providing them with the resources to feed their families. I want to also recognize and thank our supermarket and farmer partners for their cooperation and generosity in hosting our volunteers.
Read the Proclamation by the County Executive Recognizing Liz Cohen.
12,000 pounds! What does that amount signify? It means that the good patrons and farmers of the West Windsor Farmers’ Market donated six tons of fresh produce and canned goods to the Crisis Ministry food pantries in Trenton and Princeton. And they accomplished all this from the opening of the market in May through its closing in mid-October.
Early on a Saturday morning, twice a month, the volunteers of Yes We CAN! Food Drives set up a table at the Farmers’ Market to collect fresh produce, canned goods and personal products. As we moved from the early spring days of the market through the summer and fall, the farmers and patrons supported our bi-weekly food drive with smiles, good wishes, additional volunteers and huge amounts of fresh produce. We even received $2,400 in cash donations which we promptly turned around and used to buy produce from the farmers.
Throughout the season, we collected strawberries, rhubarb, asparagus, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, peaches, apples, potatoes and much more. All represented an opportunity for the people who rely on the Crisis Ministry food pantries to have fresh produce, something they rarely have since most people donate canned or boxed food.
Because of the newly renovated Crisis Ministry facilities at the 123 East Hanover Street location, all produce is stored in walk in refrigerators on Saturday and kept fresh until the opening of the food pantry on Monday. Though the amount of food collected was significant, the fresh produce disappeared from the shelves by the end of Tuesday.
A very special thanks to the farmers who donated much of their unsold produce to Yes We CAN! at the conclusion of each market day. We would not have been so successful without the generosity of Chia-Xin Fa Farm, ER and Son Organic Farm, Krowicki Farms, North Slope Organic Farm, Stults, and Village Bakery.
Please look for Yes We CAN! over the winter at the various Slow Food events. We will be collecting canned goods and personal products.
Again, thank you!
Kimberly Kyte and Jenny Silverman
Co-Chairs, Yes We CAN! at the West Windsor Farmers’ Market
Pennington Post, September 1, 2010:
Yes We CAN! Food Drive prepares for National Service Day
Town Topics, May 19, 2010:
Yes We CAN! Food Drives Honored for Contributions to Crisis Ministry
Pennington Post, March 25, 2010:
Yes We CAN! food drive salutes PQM manager Don Rellstab
Times of Trenton, February 16, 2010:
Compassion Boom
Times of Trenton, February 15, 2010:
Teens Give Help, Pantry Offers Hope
The Princeton Packet, December 11, 2009: (link to come)
Pennington Post, November 11, 2009:
Yes We CAN! collects $450, 122 food bags at PQM drive