A little about SHUPPrinceton

This is what we do and why we do it.

We know that poor nutrition and learning are at odds. When children arrive at school on Monday morning, they have a right to be properly fed and ready to learn, and Send Hunger Packing Princeton was formed to make that possible.

Eliminate Food Insecurity

Our Mission.

Expand the Program

Our on-going goal.

Engage through Social Media

Our way of expanding the conversation.

Your Donations

Our means to the end.

Get Involved

Our request for anyone who’s read this far.

Spread the Word

Our request for anyone who asks “what can I do to help” Also see “DONATE” above.

Our Programs

Our effort to reach more children in need within our community has encouraged us to expand our mission and our reach. Beyond the core initiative of the weekend food program SHUPPrinceton has partnered with several great organizations in our community to make accessing food easier.

Our Fresh Produce Delivery Program

SHUPP has shifted our backpack program to take this pandemic head on. SHUPP has arranged to provide 10 lbs bags of fresh produce to food insecure families of Free and Reduced Lunch recipients enrolled in the Princeton Public Schools. Delivery of the produce was arranged and negotiated by SHUPP with a wholesale provider. Our provider is paid to accompany school buses and school staff in a refrigerated truck to make bi-weekly deliveries in conjunction with the school’s food distribution schedule.

Community Gardens

In our efforts to expand our outreach to the community SHUPPrinceton has build and planed multiple commnuity gardens open to the community to enjoy the fresh produce grown by our SHUPP volunteers.

Vertical Farm Program

In conjunction with the Princeton Public Schools we have installed a vertical farm in the Littlebrook Elementary School.

This pilot program will complement the already robust outdoor, raised bed garden programs that have existed for some time in a number of Princeton Public Schools. It will allow for gardening all year round. It will allow the students to continue their agricultural adventures indoor during the cold weather, allow them to study, experiment, care for and maintain a gardening pod that has the potential to grow as much as 300 pounds of produce throughout the year.

Our Weekend Food Program

The genesis of the SHUPPrinceton initiative. Our weekend food program (or backpack program) provides students with supplemental nutritional resources in order to help stave off hunger over the weekend so that that can return to class on Monday better able to focus on their schoolwork.

ARM in ARM Food Pantry

To expand our outreach to the community SHUPPrinceton has partnered with Arm in Arm, a successful and like minded provider of food services to those in need. The partnership allows us to reach more children and families in need by providing another point of pick up for supplemental food throughout the year. This is an invaluable partnership because we realize that the need persists even when school is not in session.

Community Wide Summer Support

The SHUPPrinceton board in collaboration with the YMCA, YWCA and the Princeton Recreation Department expanded the weekend food distribution program to children in need, participating in the different camps through these organizations. SHUPPrinceton provides funding to a new summer school program, Jump Start, provided by the YMCA. Jump Start is an 8-week summer program offering support to children from low income/immigrant households in getting them ready for Kindergarten. Many of these children were not English-speakers and had not attended Pre-K. SHUPPrinceton’s funding covered the expense of the lunches provided to the kids participating in this program.

weekend meals distributed

Children eligible for the program

Years serving those in need in Princeton

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is in the weekend bag?

The contents of the weekend bags are driven by the need to balance nutrition and available resources, as well as the importance to remember that a small child is going to be bringing this bag home with them so we need to keep it manageble.

Can I donate food items?

While we don’t directly collect food items, our partners do. Please contact us and we will gladly put you in touch with the right group for whatever you have to offer.

How else can I help SHUPPrinceton?

Easy, spread the word. The more people in our community who know about SHUPPrinceton and the work we do, the more kids we can help. And of course, please donate and/or volunteer.