Church in Old Forge starts food pantry - Scranton Times-Tribune

Church in Old Forge starts food pantry - Scranton Times-Tribune

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SUBMITTED PHOTO The food pantry at St. Michael's Orthodox Church, Old Forge.

SUBMITTED PHOTO John Labrosky and the Rev. Peter Henry in the food pantry at St. Michael's Orthodox Church, Old Forge.

A new food pantry at an Old Forge church fills a vacuum for the borough and neighboring Taylor and Duryea.

St. Michael’s Orthodox Church recently started a food pantry for needy residents of those three communities.

“The need is great,” the Rev. Peter Henry said. “A number of families need help right now.”

The food pantry at the church’s parish hall at 512 Winter St. opens on the first Thursday and third Saturday of each month, from 11 a.m. to noon.

During September, the pantry served a total of 11 families consisting of 20 people, Rev. Henry said.

On Oct. 6, the pantry served three new families, he said.

The pantry next opens today, from 11 a.m. to noon.

Local advocates for a few years now have eyed Old Forge and its neighbors as candidates for a food pantry, because none previously existed there and the closest pantries were fairly far off in Scranton, said Sandra Roberts, executive director of Bread Basket of Northeastern Pennsylvania, a supplemental food assistance program for Lackawanna County.

Folks in the Downvalley area needing food-pantry services may not have transportation to get to Scranton, she said. Ms. Roberts acted as a conduit and information source about food pantries to help St. Michael’s launch its own, she said.

The church received from the Scranton Area Community Foundation a $3,000 grant that it used to purchase shelves and rolling tables, the Rev. Henry said.

Partnering with the Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank in Jenkins Twp., the church receives nearly all of its food from that organization, he said.

Staffed by parish volunteers and friends, the church pantry distributes nonperishable food to income-qualified recipients.

“I feel it’s a blessing for all of us. It’s a blessing for us to be in position to help,” the Rev. Henry said. “It’s definitely a good thing that God is calling us to do.”

The food pantry needs donations of food items and cash to buy food and supplies.

For information about required criteria to receive food from the pantry, or to donate food or money, call the church office at 570-457-3703 or visit the church website at www.stmichaelof.org.

Contact the writer:

jlockwood@timesshamrock.com, @jlockwoodTT on Twitter