On Wednesdays and Fridays, about every six weeks, volunteers prepare, deliver and serve meals to homeless individuals and families who are sheltered in a Family Promise participant church. Email familypromise@hunterdonuu.org for information.

Fisherman’s Mark has been a part of the community for over 36 years, providing not only services that meet basic needs, such as food and affordable childcare, but going beyond crisis to partner with individuals and families to break the cycle of crisis and promote self-sufficiency and wellness. Programs respond to the needs of vulnerable populations in our area: seniors, individuals living with disabilities, the local immigrant population, low income families, the unemployed and underemployed. They assist with any crisis that presents: homelessness, domestic violence, job-loss, insurance issues, financial crisis or medical, substance abuse or mental health issues.

The Flemington Area Food Pantry provides food and personal care items to needy Hunterdon County families regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background. It is located across the parking lot from the front entrance of the Flemington WalMart. Food insecurity is a national problem. In Hunterdon County, of 126,000 residents, an estimated 5,000 have income below the poverty level. Many of these residents, including children and infants, don’t get enough to eat without some form of assistance. The Pantry provides supplemental groceries to approximately 1,600 income qualified Hunterdon County families. Pantry clients are often friends and neighbors who may be underemployed, hard-working adults, veterans, families with children, and seniors who simply cannot make ends meet and who go without food for several meals or sometimes several days at a time. Some have lost jobs, and some are homeless. They are of all nationalities and ethnic backgrounds, but have one thing in common: they don’t have the resources to buy the food they need to subsist.

For the several years, volunteers have raised funds for Habitat which helped build a home in Lambertville. Our volunteers have also given the assistance of labor and talent by assisting at an actual build project, as they will again when the next construction project is underway.

Through UU FaithAction New Jersey (formerly UULMNJ), we write letters, make public witness, distribute education materials, meet with legislators, and testify at public hearings. We have participated in campaigns to:

• Oppose fracking in the Delaware River Basin
• Increase the minimum wage in NJ and nationally
• Urge gun manufacturers to increase safety features
• Legalize marriage for all in NJ
• Reform immigration laws
• Support renewable energy legislation

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we participate in “A Day of Service.” At this event, volunteers of all ages do family-friendly activities, such as assembling home healthcare kits or writing letters to service men and women. In advance of the Day of Service, volunteers within their individual communities and congregations take up a collection of items organizers have identified as particularly needed.

Hunterdon UU partners with the NORWESCAP Food Bank to fight hunger in northwestern New Jersey. Here are ways you can help:

• Donate food at any time by placing it in the marked bin by the back door of Dodd Hall (the building behind the Old Stone Church.)  Preferred items are peanut butter, tuna, canned fruits and vegetables, canned soup and nutritious cereals, but other high-nutrition foods are also welcome.
• Help organize a food drive for the food bank.  This is a good project for covenant groups, religious exploration groups or families.  Find out how by emailing foodbank@hunterdonuu.org.
• Donate directly to the food bank.  They accept donations of money, certain items for their thrift shop, or food (preferred items listed above.)  For more information, call the food bank at 908-454-4322 or email foodbank@norwescap.org. You can also find out about NORWESCAP Food Bank’s own fundraisers, like the Culinary Celebration in October, which you might want to attend.
• Volunteer at the food bank on Thursdays from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.  Email your preferred date(s) to Becky E. at foodbank@hunterdonuu.org.
• For more information or to receive monthly reminders of the upcoming food bank dates, email foodbank@hunterdonuu.org.

Potluck with a Purpose is an opportunity for members of the congregation to introduce social justice causes. The Potluck will be held in Dodd Hall and will provide a chance for an individual to present a social justice organization that they would like to share with the Hunterdon UU community. The event can include a speaker, either being a member or a representative of the social justice topic. A brief presentation should be done followed by a question and answer/ discussion period. Then the event will be concluded with a potluck. Attendees are asked to bring food to share.

Re-Member is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which works with the Oglala Lakota Nation on Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota.

Volunteers comprised of individuals and groups from churches, high schools, colleges, and corporations join us at their facility in Pine Ridge for one week at a time. Volunteers participate in various work projects across the Reservation, helping to rebuild relationships, homes, and lives.

Guided by the aspirations of the Oglala Lakota Indian communities, Re-Member seeks to improve the quality of reservation life through relationships, shared resources, and volunteer services. Through site visits and cultural immersion, they develop a growing circle of advocates standing in solidarity with the Indian people of Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

Members of our congregation have volunteered in the past and will be volunteering again this summer. If you are interested in volunteering in the summer please contact socialjustice@hunterdonuu.org.

The Hunterdon County Interfaith Outreach Council (HIOC) is a non-profit organization led by volunteer clergy & faith congregations with the purpose of coordinating outreach to our communities – http://www.hioc-helps.org. Each year they accept donations to help heat homes in winter and provide security deposits for displaced persons and their families. If you are interested in donating to HIOC, please send a check made out HIOC to:

Hunterdon Interfaith Outreach Council
5  East Main St.
Flemington, NJ 08822