Greater
Pittston
Food
Pantry (GPFP)
Dispatch presents 'Person of the Year' donations
Donations collected for St. John Evangelist, Care and Concern
Health Clinic, Kid's Closet, Food Pantry and the Greater
Pittston Meals on Wheels program at the recent Greater
Pittston Person of the Year Luncheon sponsored by the
Sunday Dispatch, were presented to Peggy Burke, 2008 Person
of the Year and fellow volunteers of these programs. Mrs. Burke
was also presented a DVD of the event held at the Tribeca
Center on March 22.
A few years back, the Care and Concern Committee
at St. John the Evangelist formed, and the main thrust
of the committee was to reach out to the community to
give a helping hand. One idea that came to fruition was
forming the Free Health Clinic that kicked off a year
ago and is doing extremely well.
Burke, after reading and being inspired by the book,
"Take This Bread," lobbied for a food pantry to help
low-income families of Greater Pittston. A food pantry
collects and stores food and household products for
free distribution to the needy.
She knew why she wanted this project for Greater Pittston, she just didn't know how to
go about getting one started. "The Trucksville United Methodist Food Bank has been in
existence for 30- years, so we modeled our food bank after theirs," Burke said.
With the backing of the Care and Concern Committee, the Greater Pittston Food Pantry
(GPFP) was born, with Burke as coordinator. The pantry will operate under the
Commission on Economic Opportunity's (CEO) guidelines at the site of the former Seton
Catholic High School Building on Williams Street, Pittston.
"We are following the guidelines of the CEO's Weinberg Food Bank which distributes
food from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Surplus Food program," Burke said. The
GPFP will service Pittston, Pittston Township, Avoca, Dupont, Duryea, Hughestown,
Jenkins Township, Laflin, West Pittston, Falls, Harding, Exeter, Exeter Township,
Wyoming and West Wyoming.
Under the guidelines, families who fall below 150% of the Federal Government's
poverty rate qualify for assistance. The Federal Government adjusts the Income
Guidelines each year of the current poverty rate. If you are a household of one
and your annual income falls below $15,315 you qualify. Others qualifying are:
family of 2 under $20,535; family of 3 under $25,755; family of 4 under $30,975;
family of 5 under $36,195; family of 6 under $41,415; family of 7 under $46,635;
and a family of 8 under $51,855.
"After having an article published in last week's Sunday Dispatch about our food pantry,
many people called and we now have 40 volunteers to help out," Burke said. The
volunteers will be trained over the next few weeks for the grand opening in the first week
in November. "We will distribute the food and items with a goal of 20 families per week
with food pick-up scheduled for Thursday mornings."
Burke, a retired registered dietician, will provide nutritional information to families with
the hope of educating all on proper nutrition. Food to be distributed will be:
soups/stews/complete meals, juices, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, canned ham
and tuna, pasta, rice, bread, grains, cereal, crackers, pancake mix, nutri-grain bars,
beverages (carbonated and non), snacks, cookies and desserts as well as condiments of
any sort.
The GPFP will also be distributing non-food items such as paper products, cleaning
supplies, health and beauty, and diapers and baby items.
The GPFP will be accepting non-perishable food from public donations as well monetary
contributions. If you do plan on donating, please check the expiration dates on food
items.
"If you have a family income according to the income guidelines and live in the
encompassing area, you then qualify for assistance," said Burke. The GPFP will be by
appointment only, no walk-ins please. The number to call for an appointment is 654-
9923.
CAN I PARTICIPATE?
We Service Pittston, Pittston Twp,
Avoca, Dupont, Duryea, Laflin,
Hughestown, Jenkins Township,
West Pittston, Falls, Harding,
Exeter, Exeter Township, Wyoming
and West Wyoming.
DO YOU QUALIFY?
You qualify if you are; Family of 1
your annual income (AI) falls
below $15,315 you qualify.
* Family of 2 under $20,535(AI)
* Family of 3 under $25,755(AI)
* Family of 4 under $30,975(AI)
* Family of 5 under $36,195(AI)
* Family of 6 under $41,415(AI)
* Family of 7 under $46,635(AI)
* Family of 8 under $51,855(AI)
We are a parish of the consolidated churches of St. Casimir's,
St. John the Baptist, St. John the Evangelist and St. Joseph's
In honor of Jax's fifth birthday on St. Patrick's Day, his owners, Audrey and Dan
O'Brien, celebrated in a unique way. The O'Briens made donations of dog and cat
treats which were distributed to pet owners at the Greater Pittston Food Pantry where
Audrey is the Assistant Coordinator. Pictured above is Jax wearing his St. Paddy's Day
scarf. For information on the Food Pantry, Free Health Clinic or Kids' Clothes Closet
call 654-9923.
Dog's birthday aids Food Pantry
The Greater Pittston Food Pantry will be
accepting non-perishable food from public
donations as well as monetary contributions.
If you do plan on donating, please check
the expiration dates on food items.
Please give, we never know what the future
will hold.
Crunching the Numbers
* The food pantry now has 702 registered families after 20
months of operation.
* We are approaching the filling of our 10.000th bag in just a few
weeks.
October 25
Free Food Pantry one year old
Inspired by a book, pantry serving 50 local families each
week
By Jack Smiles
Times Leader Staff Writer
It might be said that because Peggy Burke likes to read, low income families from 15 communities in the Greater Pittston area have food pantry to serve them. Inspired by a book, Burke founded the Greater Pittston Food Pantry last October. On Wednesday the pantry had a first birthday party replete with cake and balloons.
Burke, an active volunteer with the Care and Concern Committee of the Parish Community of St. John the Evangelist, read "Take This Bread" by Sara Miles. A former war correspondent, Miles converted to Christianity at age 46 after impulsively walking into a church and receiving communion for the first time. Within a year she started a food pantry for hundreds of San Francisco's indigent.
Burke spearheaded a Care and Concern Committee project to create a food pantry for Greater Pittston. She turned to an existing local pantry for help. "The Trucksville United Methodist Food Bank has been in existence for 30 years,
so we modeled our food bank after theirs," Burke said.
The Pittston pantry operates under the Commission on Economic Opportunity's (CEO) guidelines at the site of the former Seton Catholic High School Building on William Street, Pittston.
When the pantry opened a year ago a story in this newspaper produced over 40 volunteers. A year later 20 of the original volunteers are still working. Volunteer Sharon Washinski can't get enough of helping. "I wish I could do this everyday," she said as she picked food for packages on Wednesday morning. Food packages are distributed once a week on Wednesdays.
While the original goal was to prepare food packages for 20 families a week, the pantry is now averaging 50 with a high of 60. There are 530 households registered with the pantry.
Burke, a retired registered dietician, tries to keep the packages nutritionally sound with soups/stews/complete meals, juices, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, canned ham and tuna, pasta, rice, bread, grains, cereal, crackers, pancake mix, and Nutri-grain bars, but doesn't exclude beverages snacks, cookies and desserts.
The pantry gets most of its food from CEO, but relies heavily on donations, of food and money, from the public. On Wednesday a woman dropped off a box of food and a big bag of homemade peppers.
People aren't the only ones helped.
Last St. Patrick's Day, Burke's assistant coordinator Audrey O'Brien, and her husband Dan, donated dog and cat treats for pet owners at the pantry for their dog Jax's birthday.
Audrey said she has a special reason to volunteer time. "I had cancer. Missions and prayer helped me and I was cured. God wanted me here. He didn't think my work was done. To give back I volunteer."
The pantry serves Pittston, Pittston Township, Avoca, Dupont, Duryea, Hughestown, Jenkins Township, Laflin, West Pittston, Falls, Harding, Exeter, Exeter Township, Wyoming and West Wyoming.
Under the guidelines, families who fall below 150% of the Federal Government's poverty rate qualify for assistance.
The Federal Government adjusts the income guidelines each year of the current poverty rate. Household of one and with annual income below $15,315 qualify. Others qualifying are: family of two under $20,535; family of three under $25,755; family of four under $30,975; family of five under $36,195; family of six under $41,415; family of seven under $46,635; and a family of eight under $51,855.
Families who qualify for food from the pantry are asked not to walk-in. Food is distributed by appointment only. Call 654-9923 for an appointment.
Food donations may be dropped off on Wednesday mornings or call 654-9923.
Care and Concern also operates a free health clinic and a Kid's Clothes Closet at the Seton Catholic school site. For more on these programs, also call 654-9923.
Peggy Burke, director, and Audrey O'Brien, assistant director, display a cake noting the first anniversary of the Free Food Pantry in Pittston.
Volunteers keep busy at the Free Food Pantry in Pittston.
The Bishop blesses shelves in the food pantry, which serves 50 to 60 families a week.
S. Pittston Social Club donates to Food Pantry
The South Pittston Social Club donated to The Care and Concern Food Pantry of the Parish of St. John the Evangelist in December. Left to right Sam Gallo, Fundraiser Chair; Wil Toole, Joe Reggie, Msgr. John Bendik, Carl Manganiello, Stanley Rovinski, Phil Pizano and Al Forlenza.
