The Trenton Area Soup Kitchen in Trenton, NJ has expanded from serving sandwiches out of a car trunk in 1982 to feeding over 100,000 people annually through its main location and 7 satellite sites. It serves 3 meals a day, 7 days a week to the hungry and homeless in Trenton and surrounding areas regardless of ability to pay. While initially aimed at feeding the hungry rather than homeless, the soup kitchen now sees many homeless and those struggling with poverty, unemployment, addiction, and mental illness. It provides not just meals but social services, programs, and a community for patrons in need.

1. Melissa Lindley
COM 415
Hirsch
3/27/14
TRENTON N.J.- The slogan “Trenton Makes, The World Takes” once referred
to New Jersey’s state capital’s budding manufacturing industry. Today, those words
illuminated over the Delaware River are remnants of a city that is now rife with
crime, poverty, homelessness, and broken dreams. With an unemployment rate of
about 18%, almost double the statewide rate, Trenton seems to be regarded as a lost
cause by citizens and government officials alike. The current economy has also led
the city into further disrepair, both physically and spiritually. But not all hope has
been lost.
Since 1982, the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen has gone from serving
sandwiches out of the trunk of a car to feeding over 100,000 hungry people in the
greater Trenton and Mercer County area, and no one is ever turned away. The soup
kitchen offers a variety of programs and services for patrons to improve their
quality of life, and is dedicated to changing the city’s poverty-stricken image.
The soup kitchen formed when blue collar and industrial jobs were in a state
of decline in the 1970s, and a large part of the population fled to the suburbs to find
work elsewhere. Left behind were the poor, struggling minority groups, and the
homeless. The soup kitchen’s intentions, however, were not initially geared toward

2. the homeless. Dennis Micai, the executive director of the soup kitchen, grew up in
Trenton and recalls what the city was like at the time.
“Back in those days, people didn’t really talk about homelessness. [The
homeless] weren’t as visible, and there weren’t as many. The intention of the soup
kitchen wasn’t to feed the homeless, but to feed the hungry. And it wasn’t
necessarily assumed that these people didn’t have homes. These were just people
who didn’t have a lot of resources.”
The soup kitchen’s humble beginnings were self-reliant, and it was
built with the hands of dedicated citizens without any government money. 30 years
later, that self-reliant image is still upheld, with 70% of the funding coming from
individual private donors, although they now receive $20,000 annually from FEMA,
and 5% of their income is government funded.
With the currently unstable economy, one might assume that the small sum
of government funding and heavy reliance on donations would lead to a financial
struggle for the soup kitchen. However, that is furthest from the truth, having had a
5-8% increase of patrons since the recession. They set record numbers in 2013,
serving about 210,000 meals to the hungry.
Micai looks at the numbers as a mixed blessing. While he is pleased that they
have not been hurt financially, he is troubled that others are traveling long distances
because they are unable to get services in their region. Many travel on the River
Line, a light-rail train that connects Trenton and Camden, and come from as far
away as Philadelphia and South Jersey. However, he is glad that Trenton has a good
number of resources.

3. “The good news is that Trenton has an infrastructure and services for people
that aren’t necessarily available in other places.”
In addition, the kitchen has set up satellite locations throughout
Mercer County to help accommodate the large influx of patrons. There are currently
7 locations, including three in Trenton, two in Hightstown, one in Princeton, and one
in Hamilton. Micai is also working to expand to Ewing.
“People have to travel to get here. There’s no real residential area right here,
so it’s another reason we have satellite sites. We know that not everyone can get
here, so we go to the neighborhoods.”
Micai, along with others in the soup kitchen’s community, are eager to dispel
the myth that everyone who comes to get a meal or use its services are homeless.
According to a semiannual demographics survey, a large majority of those who
come are seniors, males, and young families, and they are often receiving welfare
and food stamps that do not last from month to month.
“Only about ¼ of the people are homeless. The rest is people of low income.
20% of the people actually have jobs. More than half have an income of some sort, so
they’re not people who have nothing. They just don’t have much.”
Many who come to use the soup kitchen are minority groups. 70% are
African American, 20% are Hispanic, and10% are white. More males also use most
of the services, as 80 to 85% are male.
He has also noticed an increase of patrons who suffer from untreated mental
illness and/or substance abuse, which he believes are contributing factors that
prevent them from prospering.

4. “There’s a heroin epidemic in the Trenton area, and a lot of the folks coming
in are clearly drug addicts. We see more of that than we used to see, especially the
males.”
Patrons have also been seasonal. There is a large influx of Hispanics, who
work in the fields, in construction, and gardening work. They often come in during
the spring and summer, and the numbers drop drastically during winter. During the
summer, the soup kitchen sees more children coming in, as they are not getting free
meals from their schools. Programs have been offered for children to still get food
on days where school is not in session.
The soup kitchen, however, is not just a place for people to get a meal. While
some do show up, eat, and then leave, many of the patrons have built a tight-nit
community. It has become a place to socialize and relax. Micai refers to it as a
sanctuary.
“With the older folks, it’s a little bit different. It’s not just the meals, it’s a
social aspect. They see their friends, they come in and hang out with people. You’ll
see them interact with one another much more than the other groups.”
It also leads to a much safer environment. Aside from the occasional rowdy
person and vandalism, the soup kitchen is able to keep most outside issues away.
They have security cameras located throughout the building, and hire Trenton
police officers to keep watch and escort employers after dark, and have strict rules
for anyone who causes trouble.
“Most people that come here know that the streets are rough, and when they
come here, it’s a place to find some rest. In fact, you’ll hear patrons tell one another

5. ‘Keep that out on the street, don’t bring that in here.’ So the patrons themselves
police things.”
Aside from safety and a pleasant environment, Micai and the rest of the staff
pride themselves on ensuring that patrons have access to a variety of services that
are otherwise inaccessible. They offer basic things such as hygiene packages, bag
lunches, and donated clothing. Patrons also have access to programs that can
improve their well being. The soup kitchen also hires a chiropractor, nurse
practitioner, social worker, and collaborates with local charities in the area. The
social worker helps patrons get welfare, food stamps, counseling, and other forms of
healthcare.
“We work with Greater Area Trenton Behavioral Healthcare. They’re a
mental health organization, and they come in here with caseworkers, and we work
with them. If someone’s having a really serious situation of some sort, we call people
and they’ll take them to the crisis center.”
Additionally, the soup kitchen also provides other things for patrons to
participate in. For children, there is a program called Kid’s Day Off, which keeps
them busy with crafts and games when they are out of class. The soup kitchen also
ensures that families are taken care of. During Christmas, they take donations for
gifts and toys for children, and Adopt A Family, which allows families to make a wish
list of items that families need. Donors can get a list, and buy items for certain
families of their choice.
Maintaining their quality services, while costly, is not a problem for them.
Much of their food is donated, and they receive food at a 15% discount from the

6. local food banks. The recently added satellite locations in the suburbs have added
additional expenses, and in the past 5 years, food costs have gone up about 20%.
$300,000 of the 2.2 million dollar budget is spent on food, with the rest going
towards utilities and other costs. Additional staff members have been added as well,
which costs around $30,000 per employer, including benefits. Micai, however,
doesn’t mind. It only means more food for more bellies.
“Every time we add a satellite site, we have costs for extra food and whatnot.
I had to buy a second van and hire a second driver. But believe it or not, we’ve been
able to meet the demand of the current group of folks here because we’re producing
more meals.”
One of the largest programs, which costs them essentially nothing, is the
SHARE Project, which was founded in 2009. It was started after the staff noticed
that patrons were looking for ways to pursue a creative outlet and reduce their time
on the streets. Participants write spoken word poetry, paint, act, and perform music.
Aspiring musicians formed the FunkTASKtiks, and they meet at the soup kitchen
every Monday afternoon to practice and hold an open mic session. Anyone is
permitted to join.
The program garnered national attention in 2010 when their short film won
the grand prize for the Shoprite Expressions Of Hunger contest. The group’s photo
was featured on the back of 150,000 boxes of Cheerios. Jaime Parker, the founder of
the SHARE Project and the soup kitchen’s program director, is pleased with its
success, and anticipates its growth.

7. “I know at least one or two participants have been able to control their
tempers because they told me that participating in SHARE and being able to express
themselves helps them release some of the anger that they felt. Under normal
circumstances, they would’ve gone out and done something violent, but instead,
they wrote a poem and felt better.”
Derrick Branch, a longtime Trenton resident and proud member of the
FunkTASKtiks, has found solace through the SHARE Project. Having struggled with
an unstable upbringing, mental illness, and substance abuse, music and art have
helped him heal.
“I’m still battling those same demons, but I have more self control now. I have
a better outlet. I understand my mind so I don’t get too deep into feelings about the
things I do, draw, keep. I don’t possess ‘em no more.”
The soup kitchen has also expanded to other services as well. Various
educational classes are held on a regular basis. Some of the classes taught include
reading, career assistance, and helping those who are seeking out GEDs, driver’s
licenses, and vocational jobs prepare for entrance testing. The food quality has also
improved drastically over the last several years. They have hired new cooks and
dieticians to make menu items healthier, and all their food is made from scratch, and
nothing is prepackaged.
Despite all of the successes that the kitchen has had since its founding, Micai
notes that the biggest problem has yet to be solved; that people are still going
hungry and not getting the help that they need. He credits the rampant corruption,
such as the recent imprisonment of former mayor of Tony F. Mack, and tax

8. exemptions as being a part of the problem. Micai has newspaper clippings of
politicians who come in to volunteer on holidays and take publicity photos, but
never return. The citizens, he said, can only do so much. He hopes that one day, the
hands that built the city will be the ones to bring it back to its former glory. His last
words were from a conversation he had with an old friend several years before.
“Stand out front. You can look out there and see the dome of the state house.
But I wonder if they can see us.”