Each year the young people at Newtown Quaker Meeting host a lasagna dinner to raise funds for their “charity of choice” at the Meetinghouse, 219 Court Street. The event is organized and run by the 1-6 graders among the 82 children and young people in the Quaker Meeting.

They sell the tickets, collect the funds, serve the food, and wash the dishes. They usually raise over $1,000 and this year’s $1,164 was no exception. The charity selected this year by the young Quakers is Mercer Street Friends Food Bank in Trenton, NJ, a Quaker-affiliated, nonsectarian organization.

Bill Heinemann, Mercer Street Friends Chairman of the Board, Newtown resident and Newtown Quaker Meeting member, said, “This is terrific! As they so often do, the children are showing us the way. In choosing Mercer Street Friends, the children made an important connection to children and families in need just across the river. The economy continues to take a toll on people right in our area, and government support is not keeping up with the increasing needs. Local agencies like Mercer Street Friends are taking on an increasingly important role, and rely even more on donations from individuals and organizations.” 

Mercer Street Friends is a Quaker-based social service agency that serves nearly 30,000 people in and around Trenton New Jersey. For more than 50 years it has provided vital services to children, youth, parents, and adults in a wide range of programs, including the Food Bank which supplies over 60 organizations in the area.

Newtown Friends Meeting, co-founded by the Quaker artist and minister, Edward Hicks, in 1815, holds services every First Day (Sunday). During the school year, First Day classes for children and adults are at 9:45am and Meeting for Worship at 11:00am. Professional childcare is provided.

All meetings are open to the public and visitors are warmly welcomed.