New Bethany Ministries' new food pantry plans have gotten a jump-start thanks to a $40,000 grant from the R.K. Laros Foundation.
The emergency food pantry has outgrown its current home inside the Mollard Hospitality Center, 339 W. Fourth St., Bethlehem, and hopes to open a pantry at a neighboring property.
The nonprofit is renovating a single-family home at 321 W. Fourth St. into affordable housing. New Bethany plans to turn the detached two-story garage into a climate-controlled food pantry where customers can choose their own food instead of being given staff-selected donations.
This type of pantry better meets the cultural, religious, nutritional and health needs of users, according to New Bethany.
The $40,000 grant helps New Bethany make great progress towards its $171,500 fundraising goal, but it doesn't get it to its goal, said Kate Cohen, director of development and communications.
"Our organization is still looking for additional partners to bring this essential service to the South Side," she said.
The new pantry will quadruple the pantry's food storage and allow it to store more donations that require freezing and refrigeration. Currently, New Bethany often has to turn away donations of fresh produce and meat because it doesn't have the refrigerated storage space.
With the new pantry, New Bethany will be able to to expand its reach from 350 to 400 families a month, who can come in every 30 days and receive three days of food.
The current food pantry space will be converted into a community area for group counseling sessions, educational and nutritional classes and offer it as public meeting space.
It is the only pantry in the Lehigh Valley that is open five days a week and the pantry supported more than 700 families in 2015.
The pantry has also been funded by the PNC Foundation, a private family foundation, the city of Bethlehem and individual donors.
Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
