In May 2013, the Princeton Human Services Commission began a program to bring awareness and help to the issue of “food insecurity” among our school-aged children. Almost 500 local children, 12% of the school population, qualify for free or subsidized school lunches during the week. But there is no help for them on the weekends. This striking need for supplemental food on the weekends led to a reach out to Mercer Street Friends to bring their Send Hunger Packing program into Princeton. SHUPP is a collaborative effort of the Princeton Human Services Commission, Mercer Street Friends a local 501(c)3, and the Princeton School District. In September 2013, the Princeton Public Schools began to distribute weekend food backpacks, provided by Mercer Street Friends, to children in the Princeton schools (K-5 so far) and at the Princeton Nursery School. To date, SHUP has distributed over 2800 meals in this way.
