By Neyssa Deriphonse

Mercer Street Friends, a non-profit organization known for its significant role in Mercer County, has recently expanded its initiatives to address food insecurity directly within the community. With the launch of three school-based food pantries, MSF is making a substantial impact on the families they serve.

Kayla Taylor, the coordinator of school-based food pantries and family resource centers at MSF, oversees this new initiative. As the lead partner agency for the community school initiative, MSF partnered with three schools in the Trenton Public School District to open food pantries at each.

The first pantry opened at Gregory Elementary School in September 2023, followed by the second one at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in December 2023. The third, and for now final, pantry was opened in March 2024 at Luis Muñoz-Rivera Elementary School. Taylor’s responsibilities include managing pantry logistics, ordering and tracking inventory and working directly with families during distribution.

When asked about the inspiration behind the food pantries, Taylor referenced the pandemic.

“The idea was kind of brought up then about how do we serve our school families better,” she said.

Since stores and schools were closed, MSF saw a direct need, especially for families relying on school meals.

“We realized that if we’re going to serve families and really kind of move them out of poverty, which is part of MSF’s goal, we needed to be addressing their immediate needs,” Taylor explained.

The initiative was part of a vision by Bernadette Trapp, the director of Community Schools, who, after convincing funders and MSF’s CEO, began planning the logistics of opening the pantries.

Since their launch, the food pantries have made a noticeable impact on the local community. 

“A large goal of our pantry is not only to provide more food security, but also to help build a culture of helping each other within the community,” Taylor said.

According to Taylor, the pantries aim to foster a stronger sense of community between schools and their neighbors. Families have started to bring items they no longer need, such as formula or diapers, for other families to use. The families coming to the pantries have grown over the past few months.

“We see community members coming to the school that maybe have never been at the school before,” Taylor said.

MSF ensures that the food pantries meet community needs through constant engagement. “We completed a survey, which we’ll do again this year, and then we also talk to them every time they’re in the pantry,” Taylor said. 

While MSF is limited as to what the school pantries provide, it strives to tailor their offerings to

the community’s needs. Currently, the pantry managers are AmeriCorps members, but MSF is looking to recruit more volunteers.

Taylor and her team created a volunteer schedule and set a limit on the number of people allowed at each site. The organization is also reaching out to families who use the pantries, as many have expressed interest in giving back to the community. 

The success of these food pantries is largely due to partnerships with the local food bank and Trenton public schools. The district’s approval and the support from individual schools have been crucial. 

“Given the current climate about school security, it is a big deal that they are welcoming the community into their school,” Taylor said. 

Feedback from the community is gathered both formally through surveys and informally during distributions. This feedback has influenced changes such as regularly purchasing hygiene products and snacks. In October, juice was added to meet the current dietary preferences of families.

Looking ahead, Taylor revealed that MSF aims to build a comprehensive case management model to help families with long-term supports such as housing and career development. It is also exploring the possibility of providing support from the lens of a family resource center. 

“We’re looking into how that would look … maybe having a location where we are able to be open longer, have more support for them, like a computer lab and have community partners there regularly,” Taylor said

Mercer Street Friends’ school-based food pantries have not only provided essential food security but also strengthened community ties and opened new avenues for support and engagement. Taylor encourages anyone interested in supporting the initiative to reach out via email at ktaylor@mercerstreetfriends.org and get involved.