MAY 2022 FREE
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Mercer moves to expand legacy beyond HomeFront By ReBeKAh SchrOeDer
Mansoor Ahmed, the founder of Heritage Kulfi in West Windsor, holds a container of his company’s saffron flavor Indian ice cream.
Flavors of tradition come alive New Indian ice cream venture opens on Alexander Road By ReBeKAh SchrOeDer
Stirring rose syrup into milk can instantly recreate a moment of nostalgia for Mansoor Ahmed, who grew up with the pink drink as an ideal treat while others may have drunk strawberry milk.
By indulging his childhood wistfulness and embracing tradition, Ahmed, the CEO and founder of premium ice cream brand Heritage Kulfi, is bringing unique South Asian flavors to area residents familiar with, as well as new to, his particular palate. Heritage Kulfi, located on Alexander Road, transforms the Indian frozen dessert kulfi into an ensemble of pints available for sale in locations throughout the tri-state area, including a rosewater option evocative of
Ahmed’s beloved childhood beverage — this trades what people associate with a romantic bouquet of the flowers for a sweet, fragrant taste capturing their essence. Kulfi is a staple in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other parts of South Asia with flavors such as saffron and pistachio. Ahmed took this inspiration a step further, revitalizing the process and ingredients into carefully crafted ice creams with a dense and See KULFI, Page 6
From a kitchen table to a statewide network, Connie Mercer has seen her Lawrence Township nonprofit, HomeFront, evolve to tackle family homelessness and poverty in central New Jersey. She started the organization 31 years ago, and now the founder and CEO is transitioning out of her leadership position to continue building on her legacy of advocacy. “The time was right,” Mercer said of the change. “[There’s] a terrific executive management team in place right now. Our funding has been very solid. The community has been very generous during the COVID period.” Mercer is stepping up on Sept. 30 to support families who are homeless at both the state and national level, while she also assists HomeFront’s Board of Trustees in finding a proper successor. Her replacement will officially embark on the role of CEO on Oct. 1. “My heart has been aching, lusting to get involved with some of the bigger picture issues, because we’re changing lives one by one here at HomeFront and doing it very, very well. But there are a lot of bureaucratic reforms and legislative reforms that will make a real difference,” Mercer explained. The initial urge to take action arose when Mercer, aghast with
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what she saw in a Route 1 motel, helped hungry children and their families living in squalid conditions. HomeFront’s first volunteers brought food to ensure that the homeless populations were not only adequately nourished, but cared for. Mercer said that one year, they provided 300,000 meals, the services then encompassing a Meals on Wheels program and preparing food in volunteer, church, and communal kitchens. Restaurants also donated food, and Mercer estimated that the food is given to about 1,200 families a month. “The more you deliver the food,” she said, “you see that they need so much more than that. You see that it’s the middle of winter and the little girl that comes out to get the food only has flip flops on.” She added that the children are so young, but they might have depression or carry a weight beyond their years — with circumstances beyond what a single meal could hope to remedy. “We realized that what we were doing was terribly important, and we did it for a number of years, that people need so much more than just food and some nice people interacting with them — that they’ve got to claw their way out of poverty, they need real programs,” Mercer said. This is where HomeFront’s See MERCER, Page 4
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