Bringing the community together, local food pantries like the Keystone Opportunity Center in Souderton help struggling families put food on the table during the holiday season by hosting food drives and raising money.
In the season of giving, many members of the community choose to donate and volunteer at their local food pantry.
For first-time volunteer Gail Ramsey, she chose to volunteer at the Keystone Opportunity Center’s Scouting for Food holiday drive because it’s the time of the year when families need the most help.
“I want to make a difference,” Ramsey said. “People might not have a job, have money, and they need to feed themselves and their kids.”
Shepherd’s Shelf administrator Steph Sharkey said that food pantries tend to be busier during November and December.”
“We try to make the holidays a little more special than the rest of our year-round distributions,” Sharkley said. “In years past, we have had seasonal extras such as Christmas cookies, turkeys, wrapping paper and more.”
At Shepherd’s Shelf in Harleysville, volunteer Katie McClure said that they also give out holiday “goodie bags,” full of little gifts that the kids can enjoy.
Many volunteers emphasize the importance of giving back to the community this time of year.
“Giving back is much more rewarding. It is always better to give back than receive,” volunteer Erin Capriotti said. “There’s no better way to spend your time, and it brings people together.”
According to Keystone Opportunity Center director Brandon Trombetta, they raised 17,200 pounds of food during the seasonal Scouting for Food drive, “6,000 more pounds” of food than last year.
The food drive was with the help of many Boy and Girl Scouts from the area.
Boy Scout Liam Neubert said that after 11 years of volunteering, he still loves to do it.
“I appreciate feeling like I made a difference in the community, along with all the other kind people who help out every year,” Neubert said. “It is also a fun experience, hanging out with your friends while still doing something for the community.”
Many workers in food insecurity note how positive change is actively seen in the community because of the food pantries in the area.
“Our clients are so appreciative of what we do and how we help them,” Sharkey said. “Clients have come back to let us know how we have helped them. Some come with donations to help others now that they are able.”
However, due to a decrease in federal funding, state funding and the temporary cutting of SNAP benefits in November, many food pantries are suffering the effects.
“Ninety percent of the proteins that we provide our neighbors with come from state and federal funding, but we haven’t received any funding in months at this point,” Trombetta said. “We have also had new families come to us looking for assistance, because they lost access to SNAP.”
According to Trombetta, the lack of funding and the growing number of families in need of food make donors and volunteers who help at Keystone even more important to a functioning food pantry.
