Loaves and Fishes Meal is a Rider Thanksgiving Tradition

Thanksgiving marks a time for gratitude, tradition and service to others. For more than 20 years, on the Saturday before the holiday, the Rider University community has supported the Loaves and Fishes, a nonprofit organization that serves hot meals to the poor and homeless of Trenton.

On Saturday, November 19,  125 volunteers — mostly students — from Rider continued the tradition by serving a pre-Thanksgiving meal to more than 400 individuals at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Trenton. Rider volunteers donated money and cookies, set up tables, greeted people, served meals and cleaned up throughout the morning and early afternoon. Aramark provided the meal and paper products. More than 4,000 cookies were donated, and more than $400 was raised by the Rider community for juice and milk, and for contributions to the Loaves and Fishes and the Protestant Campus Ministry’s Midnight Run.

“It’s definitely a university-wide effort,” said Chris De Frehn, academic coordinator in the College of Continuing Studies, who co-chaired this year’s project with Stacy Fischler Parrado, assistant dean for the College of Business Administration. “This year’s event was very successful and humbling. I’m very grateful to all of the volunteers.”

Volunteers represented a variety of departments and organizations, including administrators and staff, community service groups and athletic teams.

Feed the Hungry has become a tradition for the men’s baseball team and every member of the team is involved in the day. Sonny Pittaro, coach emeritus, had his players participate, and Coach Barry Davis decided to continue the custom when he arrived in 2004.

This year, De Frehn said, there was strong representation from other organizations and teams, including Delta Sigma Pi, business fraternity, and track and field. Members of the Student Education Association put together an arts and crafts station for children who attended the meal with their families.

De Frehn attributed this year’s success to Campus Life incorporating the annual event in their Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. The week featured a “Sleep out for the Homelessness,” presentations, and basket and clothing drives. In order to allow more people to participate in the Feed the Hungry event, Jane Sanchez, coordinator of Community Service, organized the transportation from the Lawrenceville campus to St. Mary’s Cathedral.

Feed the Hungry is also a service project that De Frehn looks forward to every Thanksgiving for almost 20 years. She was inspired to volunteer after talking with a colleague in her office, who had participated.

“I came down to Trenton as a volunteer. It was such an awesome experience and a humbling one that first year. For me it’s the little give back that I can do. It’s an opportunity for me to represent my employer,” she said. “Every year, I still have that same feeling.”