Princeton University students give back in Trenton

TRENTON, N.J. (WPVI) -- Classes haven't started yet but nearly 200 Princeton University students are hard already at work. They are members of the freshman class participating in a week long program called 'Community Action.'

Focusing on the issue of hunger, the new students have been volunteering in food banks, food pantries and soup kitchens in Trenton, Camden and Philadelphia.

"I've gotten a first-hand experience of how much these people need this food," said Kevin Sun, student.

Sun is one of the many students who've been packing and unpacking tens of thousands of pounds of food and stacking shelves at locations like Crisis Ministries in Trenton.

They work hard all day then sleep on a church floor at night.

"It's definitely worth it because every time I fall asleep on that ground, I can fall asleep satisfied that I've helped to feed a few people that day," said Sun.

Part of the idea behind the program is to get Princeton students outside of what's called the "Orange bubble" and expose them to what's happening in the world just minutes away from campus.

"Princeton's really close to Trenton and so now we actually see some of the struggles and things that actually go on in Trenton," said Sam Hall, student leader.

"Our goal here is to really educate our students about the issues of hunger locally and globally and then provide them with an opportunity to have a direct impact on that," said Charlotte Collins, Assistant Director for Princeton's Pace Center for Civic Engagement.

There's nothing glamorous about the week, which has also included cleaning up a park in Trenton, but it's making a powerful impression on the students.

"Although these people that we are helping might be less fortunate than us it doesn't mean we should pity them or see them as lower. Cause at the end of the day they are just like us," said Matthew Taitino, student.

The week is an eye-opener for freshman, like Mary Lively of Collingswood.

"I think I'm more inclined to do more service now too and to look on the world in a different light," said Lively.