Newly Formed Local Initiative Feeds Princeton Neighbors

PRINCETON, NJ -- Local resident Blair Miller recently founded Mr. Rogers’ Neighbors Kindness Project: an initiative that allows the Princeton community to support struggling neighbors and participating businesses each time they order takeout, purchase books or toys, or shop at their local McCaffrey’s supermarket.

Under the program, patrons of local restaurants and retail shops can add an extra meal, book or toy to their phone or online order. These Neighbors’ Meals or items are then delivered to the newly opened Free Store/Tienda Gratis, located in Studio Hillier, 190 Witherspoon St., the next day.

Miller first teamed up with McCaffrey’s Food Market in Princeton Shopping Center to invite customers to add a “Neighbors’ Bag” to their purchase at checkout. Each pre-packaged brown bag—costing between $5 and $20—includes personal hygiene, baby items, cleaning products, and other necessary goods, which are left in a bin for Miller to retrieve each morning.
“It’s a win-win-win - our food insecure neighbors will receive a warm meal and other necessities, our local businesses fighting to survive the adverse impacts of Covid-19 will see a bolster in sales, and our kind neighbors who want to help will have an avenue through which to do so.” Miller said.

Miller said the Free Store/Tienda Gratis was the brainchild of Ross Wishnick, founder of SHUPP (Send Hunger Packing Princeton) and head of operations at Mister Rogers’ Neighbors Kindness Project. Because of his connections and commitment to bettering the community through his tireless acts of service, Ross was able to quickly make the store concept a reality. Ross proved to be an invaluable partner to Miller’s mission, successfully keeping a steady flow of supplies coming in to meet their ever-growing demand. Ross, Blair, and Hillier’s staff worked together to open the store only two days after the inception of the idea.

A frequent volunteer at homeless shelters and other social service agencies, Miller noticed that some of these places temporarily closed as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. She grew concerned that their clients would not have enough to eat.

“So, I started to make bagged lunches with a handwritten message of hope and personally delivered them to our food-insecure neighbors. While preparing these bags, I swiftly
realized the crisis extended to local businesses, too,” she recalled. “In a time of isolation and hardship, my goal is to connect our neighbors in need, our neighbors who want to help, and our neighboring businesses so we can strengthen our community together.”

Two weeks later, Miller reached out to McCaffrey’s to get the Neighbors’ Bags initiative started. The overwhelming success of the initiative led her to recognize distribution of these bags would soon become a stumbling block. Ross Wishnick’s store concept created a powerful solution.

Miller praised local businessman Bob Hillier and his generous team for opening his architectural studio to the community. The Free Store is open to the public 12-2 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Neighbors must wear masks and line-up observing social-distancing rules while waiting for store volunteers to assist them. Each neighbor is allowed up to two bags from any category plus two Neighbors’ Meals per household.

For those who are sick or immobile, volunteers will make deliveries. To request a delivery, email blair@mrrogersneighbors.com.

The overwhelming support from the community with these efforts suggests the Mr. Rogers’ Neighbors Kindness Project can continue to do good after the pandemic. Miller’s goal is expand the initiative to help local businesses transition into life after Covid-19. She aims to help the “Neighbors’ Businesses” get new staff through Mr. Rogers’ Neighbors Kindness Project’s customer base, so local businesses and residents can continue to thrive.

Success stats:
• McCaffrey’s started selling Neighbors’ Bags on April 13. To date, more than 2100 Neighbors’ Bags, containing necessities worth well over $10,000, have been made available to those in need through Mr. Rogers’ Neighbors Kindness Project
• On opening day for the Free Store, April 20, an entire supply of 700 Neighbors’ Bags (gathered in only 1 week of working with McCaffrey’s) as well as 3 boxes of Neighbors’ Meals were depleted in an hour and a half
• Local Greek restaurant, at its Small Bites location on Nassau Street, sold more than 40 extra meals within its first two days of participation
• On average, 85 neighbors line up around the block each day to take advantage of the Free Store’s offerings

How to help?
The next time you patronize a participating Neighbors’ Business, add on something extra for a neighbor in need:
Tortugas The Bent Spoon Jammin’ Crepes
Small World JaZams
Sprouts Labyrinth Books
La Mezzaluna Local Greek
D’angelo Milk & Cookies
PJ’s Pancake House Nomad Pizza
Trattoria Procaccini Princeton Soup & Sandwich
Or pick up a Neighbors’ Bag at McCaffrey’s (costs range from $5 to $20)
Donations can be made on GoFundMe to Mr. Rogers’ Neighbors Kindness Project.

For more information, visit www.mrrogersneighbors.com.

Blair Miller, Founder

Miller studied piano performance for most of her life and went on to study the business of the classical music industry at Westminster Choir College. While teaching piano at an orphanage in her hometown in Pennsylvania as a young teen, Miller discovered her love for community service. This experience led her to found ConductAction (www.conductaction.com), a company that links classical music with our social environment in an effort to expand patronage for classical concert halls. As a child, Miller watched Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and loved the themes of kindness and community. It is through this lens she created this initiative to help the community of Princeton, where she is a resident.

Our Mission

We give our Princeton neighbors the chance to Buy 1 (for their family) Buy 1 (for their neighbors in need) as they buy locally, shop locally, and eat locally. Our initiative is a win for local businesses, a win for local residents in need, and a win for local neighbors who want to help. Our goal is to make each item a family picks up at our Free Store feel as personal as possible, complete with a handwritten message of hope. So when they sit down each night to enjoy their warm meal or bag of items, they’ll know a neighbor was thinking of them and they’ll be thinking of their neighbor.