Resource Network
Families not only need housing, they also need food, clothing and furniture. These are things that most of us take for granted, but for our area’s poorest families, these necessities can be difficult, if not impossible, to acquire.
Each month our FoodPantry – provides a week’s worth of free groceries to low-income families who need them. Much of the food is purchased with donations made to HomeFront, and the rest comes from the Mercer Street Friends food bank, USDA surplus and local food drives.
Our FreeStore is another component of our resource network, with more than 5,000 visits to the store made annually by our clients. The FreeStore also carries housewares, but not furniture. To meet that need, so that formerly homeless families can furnish their new apartments, HomeFront established Furnish the Future. This program collects and distributes donated furniture to more than 500 families a year.
Furnish The Future
Picture a real home, and you’ll see parents and kids sleeping in beds, a family sitting around a table sharing a meal, a young student seated at that same table or at a desk doing homework. Parents and kids are sleeping in beds and their clothing is stowed away in dressers – not in cardboard boxes or garbage bags. That’s our vision, too, and Furnish the Future and our donors’ kindness make it a reality.
If you have good, used furniture (or clothing and housewares) you would like to donate, please bring it to our loading dock at 1880 Princeton Avenue in Lawrenceville on weekdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m. or Saturdays 9 a.m.-noon.
You can schedule a furniture pickup by calling (609) 989-9417, but we’ll need a $40 donation. We regret that, but the money is needed to help pay staff and maintain our very old truck. Your tax receipt for the furniture donation will include the $40 cash donation.
We are currently ONLY accepting:
- Queen, full and twin size mattresses with box spring and frames in good condition (without holes or stains)
- Bunk beds (multiple parts should be bagged together)
- Dressers (small and medium-size)
- Small dinette tables and chairs
- Clothing, bedding and linens
- Sofas
Currently we are NOT accepting:
- Furniture other than mentioned above
- Holiday decorations
- Used toys
- Exercise and sports equipment
- Household fixtures
- CRT monitors, printers, scanners
- Office furniture (desks, office chairs, file cabinets)
- Musical equipment
- Oversized big-screen floor model TVs, floor model console TVs
FoodPantry
Hundreds of families in Mercer County must decide each month whether to buy food or to pay the rent. Emergency food bags are available from our FoodPantry for the growing number of families and seniors who can’t afford enough food to make it through the month. HomeFront distributes approximately 700 bags of free groceries to low-income families each month.
HomeFront also coordinates the delivery of donated hot meals prepared by area congregations and community groups. These dedicated volunteers also donate and prepare food for HomeFront events from holiday parties to graduation ceremonies.
To participate contact us at getinvolved@homefrontnj.org.
Last year we distributed more than $2.6 million worth of donated goods and professional services to our families.
Emergency Food Bags
Once a month, clients may receive a grocery bag filled with a week’s supply of food from our food pantry. Food is obtained from the Mercer Street Friends food bank, USDA surplus items and local food drives.
FreeStore
Our FreeStore provides working poor families with donated small household and clothing items. Worn-out or ill-fitting garments are not conducive to success, so the FreeStore provides children and parents with presentable, gently worn clothing and shoes for school and work.
When a new job or an impending job interview calls for something special, clients can shop for professional attire in a special room within the store.