Since its founding in March 2020, The Chubby’s Project, a Hopewell nonprofit organization, has been connecting and engaging the Hopewell Community to help neighbors in need.
Now marking its five-year anniversary, the mission has remained consistent: to build and strengthen community connections in Hopewell Borough and surrounding areas.
For decades, Rose and Chubby’s Luncheonette, located on the corner of Railroad Place and Greenwood Avenue, was Hopewell’s community gathering spot serving homestyle meals. Owner Carol Montello (known locally as “Chubby”) was known to serve anyone, regardless of their ability to pay.
The Chubby’s Project was launched in 2020 in response to the pandemic by founder Lyn Farrugia, niece to Carol Montello and current owner of Aunt Chubby’s Luncheonette, to foster connections through the kind of intentional neighboring “Aunt Chub” was known for.
“With the help of volunteers and church leaders, we began cooking and delivering a few meals every week to support our neighbors,” said Farrugia. “I never imagined it would grow into the vibrant community hub that it has become.”
Since then, the project has grown into a community hub and resource. Today, The Chubby’s Project delivers fresh hot lunch and fresh-baked desserts to more than 60 area residents every week — nearly 7,000 meals last year alone. A soup program provides homemade soup on Tuesdays.
A team of volunteers also delivers groceries and fresh produce to residents. A 24/7 food pantry located outside Aunt Chubby’s Luncheonette on Railroad Place is replenished twice a week through donations from the community.
The project also offers emergency food and supplies to neighbors who are temporarily homeless. School programs and events help raise awareness of food insecurity in our community.
But we are so much more than a food bank or a meal delivery service. The Chubby’s Project lovingly cooks, packs, and delivers delicious meals and groceries, including locally sourced produce. Our volunteers always make time to talk, connect, and learn about the needs of our neighbors.
Families are referred through the Hopewell Council of Churches, neighbors, local doctors, municipal officials, or other families in need.
“Our families are our neighbors,” said founder Lyn Farrugia, owner of Aunt Chubby’s Luncheonette. “It might be an aging widow in need of a visit, a friend experiencing an unexpected illness, a colleague with young children who is temporarily between jobs, or a veteran who lives alone. Whoever we serve, The Chubby’s Project lends a gentle hand and loving heart while they get back on their feet.”
The Chubby’s Project has made a real difference in the lives of the people in our community. Donors, volunteers, restaurant workers, and lunch recipients benefit somehow, and the community becomes more connected.
“If not for your generosity, care, and kindness, we don’t know what we would have done. Words can’t express how we feel,” wrote one family.
The project engages community organizations, churches, civic originations, farmers, volunteers, schools, and local businesses to carry out the work. We are consistently amazed by the generosity of our community in terms of time, talent, and financial resources.
Local donors have ongoing and growing support from those who believe in our mission and support our work through donations. Whether monthly, annually, on the spot, or by rounding up a check at Aunt Chubby’s Luncheonette, donors allow us to do our work.
More than 80 community volunteers, ranging from 8 (and younger) to 80 (and older), form the backbone of The Chubby’s Project. They donate time and talent, including behind-the-scenes support for social media, website, and accounting.
Each week, a core of 30 volunteers helps prepare food, stock the pantry, run food drives, pack lunches, and make deliveries. Many have been with the Project since its inception.
What started as a vision and a dream has now become a viable, sustainable non-profit organization. In 2023, the project formed a volunteer board of directors to provide stewardship and guidance.
Months later, they hired a part-time director to oversee the work, secure funding resources and strengthening systems to ensure the work of the Chubby’s Project continues for many years to come.
Our goal is to continue to be a resource for our neighbors and to engage our community. We are committed to remaining hyperlocal, so we do not plan to expand our reach beyond the Hopewell Community.
However, we have other goals, including a larger food storage, packing, and distribution building. We always have a wish list, and welcome new supporters and volunteers.
John Haney is the executive director of The Chubby’s Project and longtime resident of Hopewell. He has served as president of the board of directors of The Arc Mercer and Grand Knight, Knights of Columbus Hopewell Council 7103.
