The Alchemist & Barrister (A&B) is holding a hunger-fighting fundraiser to benefit The Mercer Street Friends Food Bank. Patrons can contribute to the effort to fight hunger in Mercer County by donating canned goods, and by buying paper turkeys containing an anti-hunger message to be posted throughout the bar. Paper turkeys are available for a donation of $2 for one or $5 for three.

New boxes are now up on the patio next to the reception desk where patrons can drop off canned goods, including items that will help put a turkey dinner on the tables of many Mercer County families. Patrons are asked to contribute cranberry sauce, packages of stuffing and mashed potatoes, broth, canned fruits and vegetables, and gravy mix.

The A&B’s general manager, Amanda Armenante is organizing the campaign. “This week is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Month, and we hope to help raise awareness of the problems of hunger, in our own community, not just during the holidays, but year round,” she said.

The A&B’s previous fundraisers have included the annual Longbeard Contest and St. Patrick’s Day celebration that raises funds for a selected local charity. “We felt that by focusing on a single charity throughout the year, we could do more to raise money and awareness,” says executive chef and owner Arthur Kukoda. Plans are underway for the months ahead, marking Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day and some additions to the A&B’s Celtic Celebration on March 17, 2014.

The Food Bank supplies over 2.5 million pounds of food each year to more than 60 organizations in Mercer County including the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK), Homefront, Crisis Ministry, and The Rescue Mission of Trenton, that feed over 25,000 people at risk for hunger. The Food Bank is part of Mercer Street Friends, a Quaker-affiliated, nonsectarian human care organization, providing compassionate and practical solutions to the problems of poverty and health.