Share My Meals partners with Princeton restaurants to feed the hungry during COVID-19 pandemic

When the nonprofit Share My Meals was incorporated in January in Princeton, it had a twofold mission: to reduce food waste and to feed the hungry.

Both of those goals remain the same in the face of the current pandemic, but the organization has been forced to change its methods while seeking help from the public.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, as much as 40 percent of the American food supply is wasted and winds up in landfills. Share my Meals wanted to help reduce food waste in the Princeton area while meeting the needs of the hungry.

At its outset, the all-volunteer group obtained fresh prepared foods from local corporations and Princeton University and delivered them to area residents who are food insecure. Since the spread of Covid-19 has forced many companies to lay off employees and the university has moved to online classes, that leftover food is no longer available.

But the hunger remains.

Switching gears after the coronavirus outbreak, Share My Meals is now seeking donations of unused ingredients that can be turned into healthy, balanced meals for the needy by local restaurant owners who are offering their services as a way to keep their own workers employed. At first, the restaurants donated food from their own inventories, but those sources are running low, said Isabelle Lambotte, president of Share My Meals.

“Local farms, corporations and the university have inventory they are donating,” said Lambotte. “We take that food to the restaurants and that helps reduce the cost of the meals.”

Participating restaurants include La Mezzaluna and The Meeting House.

Cash donations have enabled the group to also buy food. They are seeking more funds from donors, plus additional food from storage that businesses or institutions might be willing to donate.

Share My Meals currently produces about 200 meals a day for the needy, but Lambotte said there is an additional need and the organization hopes to eventually be able to feed 500 people a day.

“We work day by day and week by week,” she said, of helping a growing population in need because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the economy.

Anyone wishing to donate food or funding or volunteer to work with the organization cooking or delivering food can visit the website sharemymeals.org for more information.