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A new community market and resource center opened in Trenton’s West Ward this week, bringing fresh food, household essentials and social services closer to residents — including produce and meat supplied through partnerships with farms in the Hopewell Valley.
Homefront Director of the Resource Network Dylan O’Neill leads people on a tour of the new Trenton facility on Thursday.
Mercer Street Friends and HomeFront, working with the Trenton Health Team, officially opened The 222: Community Market and Resource Hub on Thursday at 222 N. Hermitage Ave.
The newly renovated facility combines a free, choice-based food market with case management and connections to housing, family and other support services. The project was supported by funding from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s FEED NJ program and Mercer County.
For HomeFront, the location also brings services directly into a community where many of its clients live rather than requiring residents to travel to the organization’s facilities in Lawrence Township.
During a tour of the new facility, HomeFront Director of the Resource Network Dylan O’Neill said the goal is for residents to be able to walk through the door regardless of what kind of help they need.
“We don’t turn anyone away,” O’Neill said. “Everyone can come in, and everyone’s welcome, no matter what they need. And then we’ll do the best we can to get them whatever resources they need.”
More than a food pantry
Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora looks at fresh produce in the market at the new 222 facility that is now open in Trenton for families in need.
The 222 is designed to operate differently from a traditional pantry where families receive a predetermined box of groceries.
Residents instead move through a market-style space and choose fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy, eggs, canned and shelf-stable foods based on what their families need and will use. The facility will also offer household and personal-care items as available.
That choice is intentional, organizers said, both to reduce waste and to give families a shopping experience closer to what they would encounter in a grocery store.
But food is only part of the model.
A HomeFront case manager will be at the facility during distribution hours to help residents with needs beyond food and connect them either with HomeFront programs or outside organizations. The building includes private rooms where residents can discuss housing, financial or other sensitive issues with case managers.
“As we mature and then this builds out, this is going to become a Mercer County hub, a Trentonian hub,” O’Neill said.
The plan is eventually to have social-service organizations from around Mercer County offer services at the site on scheduled days, allowing residents to make appointments or walk in for assistance. O’Neill said the system is also being designed with an “analog backstop” for people who have difficulty accessing technology.
“Access is the most important thing here,” he said. “We want to meet everybody where they are in order to make sure they get the services they need.”
From Hopewell Valley farms to Trenton families
The shelves and refrigerators at The 222 also illustrate a food network that extends beyond Trenton.
HomeFront and Mercer Street Friends have developed relationships with local farms to bring fresh produce, dairy, eggs and meat into their food programs, O’Neill said during the tour.
That includes food grown and raised in the Hopewell Valley.
Earlier this year, Fairgrown Farm in Hopewell Township received $500,000 through the state’s FEED NJ program to expand its Jersey Fresh Food Security program, which supplies produce to feeding organizations and communities around the state. Double Brook Farm received $245,357 to expand meat processing and refrigerated delivery capacity.
HomeFront also received FEED NJ funding to purchase locally produced food, creating a link between the agricultural investments and organizations serving families experiencing food insecurity.
Fresh food is consistently among the most requested items by families using HomeFront’s pantry.
At The 222 on Wednesday, that system could be seen in practice, with fresh produce filling part of the market and refrigerated and frozen foods available alongside pantry staples.
Bringing resources closer
Organizers said Trenton’s West Ward was identified as an area with limited access to food resources. Residents without convenient access to full-service grocery stores can be left relying on smaller markets or traveling outside the city for groceries, a challenge compounded for families without reliable transportation.
“The 222 reflects something we have learned again and again at HomeFront: Families rarely face just one challenge at a time,” HomeFront CEO Sarah Steward said. “A family coming through the door for groceries may also be navigating housing instability, employment challenges or other pressures.”
Steward said bringing several organizations and services together allows them to “meet people where they are, with dignity” and connect families with additional support.
Mercer County Executive Dan Benson said the full-choice pantry is an important part of improving access to nutritious food.
“Mercer County was proud to invest in this project, and we are pleased to see that investment become a welcoming, accessible resource for individuals and families right here in Trenton,” Benson said.
Mercer Street Friends CEO Randall West said the partnership is intended to eliminate some of the choices families can face when resources are limited.
“By placing fresh food, essential resources and support in one location within reach, we are helping create a stronger, healthier West Ward,” West said. “No one should have to choose between putting food on the table and meeting other basic needs.”
The organizations envision The 222 continuing to grow as a neighborhood resource center, with additional agencies eventually providing services on site.
For now, however, the concept is already fairly simple: choose the food their families can use, and, when they need something beyond groceries, have someone nearby who can help them figure out where to go next.
Dining and Cooking