Co-Curricular Hunger & Nutrition Programs

Sponsoring Group or Department: TCNJ Bonner Center

Project Name: Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Week

Community Partner(s): Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK), Oxfam America, Mercer Street Friend Food Bank, Farmers Against Hunger

Description: A week of events dedicated to promoting awareness of hunger and homelessness.  Events include; hunger banquet, poverty simulation, gospel benefit concert, etc.

Campus Contact: Rana Shariatdoust, shariat2@tcnj.edu

Website: (see facebook group)

Sponsoring Group or Department: TCNJ Bonner Center and TCNJ Nursing Department

Project Name: TCNJ Nurse Outreach

Community Partner(s): Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK)

Description: Nursing students are being sent once a month to visit the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen to teach about blood pressure and conduct mini health exams.

Campus Contact: Jaqui Abbey

Website: N/A

Sponsoring Group or Department: TCNJ Bonner Center

Project Name: Freshmen Community Engaged Learning: Elijah's Promise and Rutgers Cook Organic Farm

Community Partner(s): Elijah's Promise, Rutgers Cook Organic Farm

Description: Students spend the first half of an eight-hour day farming at an organic farm and spend the remainder or the time turning what they gleaned into a meal for the patrons of Elijah's Promise Soup Kitchen.

Campus Contact:

• Rana Shariatdoust, shariat2@tcnj.edu
• Paula Figueroa-Vega, pfiguero@tcnj.edu

Website: N/A

Academic Courses with Hunger & Nutrition Connection

Faculty Member: Professor Antonio Scarpati

Department: First Year Seminar Program

Course Title: Leadership for Social Justice

Description: Course is designed to shape and prepare students for leadership positions and to give them the tools to take initiative for social justice. 

Community Partner(s): Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK)

Website: N/A

Faculty Member: Professor Michelle Naples

Department: First Year Seminar Program

Course Title: Income Inequality

Description: Course illustrates the gaps between rich and poor, explains why the gap exists, and allows freshmen students to interact with people living at the bottom end of the income bracket in an attempt to learn how they ended up within this group.  Student interview patrons at the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.

Community Partner(s): Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK)

Website: N/A

Photos & Videos

Photos from a recent Community Engaged Learning Day, in which a group of first year students joined Bonner Scholars from The College of New Jersey to help address the issue of hunger. Students gleaned at the Rutgers Cook Organic Farm in New Brunswick and then delivered their harvest to neraby Elijah's Promise Soup Kitchen, where they also helped to prepare food for patrons.