As a line of families stretched outside a branch of the Mercer County Library system one recent weekday morning, volunteers from the Arm in Arm mobile food pantry unloaded crates of fresh produce, rice, and eggs — just one stop of many made each week to help fight hunger in communities within the county.
Launched during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Arm in Arm’s mobile pantry has become a vital resource for families struggling with high food prices, reduced benefits, and limited access to healthy groceries. Operating six days a week, the truck stops at libraries, youth centers, and housing organizations throughout Mercer County. A full schedule is available at arminarm.org.
Arm In Arm, formerly known as The Crisis Ministry, was founded in 1980 by leaders of Nassau Presbyterian Church and Trinity Church in Princeton to assist community members facing financial hardship. In 2016, the nonprofit adopted its new name to better reflect its community partnerships and mission of collaborative support for neighbors in need.
The Hamilton-based organization now employs 20 staff members and relies on hundreds of volunteers to support more than 4,000 families through its food pantries each year. It also works with 600 at-risk families to prevent or overcome homelessness and provides job training and employment mentoring.
The organization is holding a benefit event, “45 Years: The Power of WE,” on Thursday, May 8, at the Mill One Event Space at the Social Profit Center on North Johnston Avenue in Hamilton. The event runs from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at arminarm.org.
During each of the mobile food pantry’s stops, Arm in Arm’s workers serve between 150 and 200 families. Each family is allowed up to four visits per month, though many only use two or three. Families with repeated visits are considered duplicated families, and each different, individual family is considered unduplicated. Last year, Arm in Arm was able to serve nearly 41,000 food deliveries, estimating around 6,000 unduplicated families as part of that number.
“We don’t pretend to offer all the food needs for 6,000 families each year. We can’t do that, no one can. But we are part of that. We are part of helping those 6,000 families make it in Mercer County,” says David R. Fox, executive director of Arm in Arm.
Arm in Arm’s overall mission is to provide the basic needs — like food and shelter — that will help communities thrive. Its Hunger Prevention program is one of its main focuses and includes the mobile pantry, stationary food pantries, and door-to-door deliveries. There are also bulk drops where large quantities of food items are offered to certain groups like schools, churches, or hospitals.
The pandemic prompted the organization to start its door-to-door food delivery services since families could not come to the on-site pantries. This continued for about four months into July of 2020, until the mobile food pantry was launched.
The delivery service is still in place, especially for elderly members of the community who may not have the means to get to the locations of the truck, but the mobile pantry has become much larger.
The pandemic sparked the realization that many people do not have access to grocery stores, whether that’s due to lack of transportation, lack of variety in their food, or safety concerns. Because of these issues, many people will turn to local bodegas, where they may actually overpay for lower quality or less nutritious food.
The mobile pantry accommodates these accessibility issues, while also providing better food options. Most of Arm in Arm’s recipients live in food deserts — areas where there is limited food access, especially to affordable and nutritious food.
Cecilia Avila, director of Hunger Prevention at Arm in Arm, says that each family receives at least three grocery bags with a variety of options. These bags include non-perishables (like rice or cereal), fresh produce and vegetables (like cabbages, potatoes, apples, and bananas), and a choice between frozen meat or eggs.
Since these families may not have the money or options available to buy healthy food, it is important to Arm in Arm that they use their resources to invest in better-quality food to provide the best for their community.
“Cecilia does an incredible job, and her team has formed such a positive impact in the community,” Fox says. “After 45 years of being in all the communities in Mercer County that need us, we build a lot of trust.”
While Arm in Arm continues to thrive and grow, the level of need within the community is also increasing alongside the cost of living. While many people were able to recover and readjust after the pandemic, others are still struggling.
In Trenton, for example, 24.7 percent people lived below the poverty line, while the national average was 11.4 percent, according to U.S. Census data and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Along with food prices being higher, rents have also significantly increased, while benefits and other types of support have decreased.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits may be cut or largely decreased soon due to budget changes and congressional action, specifically cutting the House Agriculture Committee’s budget, which houses SNAP.
SNAP benefits are available to anyone whose monthly income is less than $2,322 per month. As of April 2024, 37,351 individuals in Mercer County receive SNAP issuances, according to the state Department of Human Services’ Division of Family Development.
With inflation and other financial challenges, many people’s struggles are even greater now, and they are relying on organizations like Arm in Arm.
Fox asserts that the number of individuals seeking assistance in the past five years is the highest he has observed. Fortunately, the organization has nearly doubled its ability to serve and budget to accommodate this growing need.
“We think at least in the next year, there’s a sense that people are going to be facing tough times, and it’s probably going to hit the people at the bottom the hardest,” Fox says. “So we truly feel like this is an important moment of our work, but we can only do as much as we’re supported to do.”
Higher costs have affected both Arm in Arm recipients as well as the organization. Chief Development Officer Maureen Hunt says that the price of an average grocery bag they would hand out was previously around $50. Today, that same bag of food is $80. Yet even with these difficulties, the number of families and individuals served, along with the number of meals, has not been impacted.
The nonprofit is funded through various grants, donations, partners, and investors. Corporations like Johnson & Johnson, BlackRock, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and many others donate and help Arm in Arm’s cause.
They also work with the Mercer Street Friends food bank, as well as local farmers and wholesalers, to provide fresh, healthy food. Due to these partners, Arm in Arm is one of the largest distributors of non-prepared food in the nonprofit sector.
“Here at Arm in Arm, I believe I have a huge door, because every single day we are interacting with people and understanding the reason why they are facing needs. Having the responsibility and the privilege for us to be able to cover those needs is huge. So, I believe I’m in the perfect place,” Avila says.
Arm in Arm only asks for one thing in return: for people to help their organization continue giving back by volunteering their efforts in addition to making donations. The nonprofit prides itself on being a very diverse team, with people from many different backgrounds coming together to work toward one collective goal.
Fox, Avila, and Hunt believe they have all gained a lot from being part of the organization, and they say their volunteers believe it is an extremely rewarding experience. They continue to seek volunteers who can work at one at the food pantries or help host food drives.
Just the mobile pantry alone takes many volunteers, between picking up the food, bagging it, setting up tables, distributing food, keeping track of the recipients, and potentially translating for non-English speaking clients.
“We need everybody. It takes a village. It takes a whole community, and we need everybody to be a part of ours,” says Hunt.
For more information on how to get involved and to learn more about Arm in Arm’s services, visit arminarm.org.
