Grace Church Food Pantry
Parishioners of the Church of the Mediator have been supporting the Grace Church Food Pantry for many years through weekly contributions of food and related items. We though you'd be interested in learning more about the Food Pantry ministry.
The Grace Church Food Pantry, which began in 1972, is the oldest food pantry in Allentown. In 2007 they served nearly 2,400 families, which included 2,900 children, 3,460 adults, and 605 elderly. They served over 300 new families in 2007, a 20% increase from 2006.
In 2007, they distributed over 100,000 pounds of food from various vendors and food drives including Second Harvest, Price Rite, B&M Provisions, Boy Scouts, and the Post Office. Purchases have been made possible by grants from the Trexler Trust, Hoch Foundation, Century Fund, FEMA, the State, USDA, and private donations. We include all the food groups from the food pyramid.
Each Thursday, they get bread and bakery donations from Giant and Fresh Market. In addition to the baked goods, Fresh Market donates fresh fruit, vegetables, salads and in December 2007, a ton of Christmas candy, cakes and bread. All still in date!
Some of their clients are volunteers and some of their volunteers are students. They have students from KidsPeace every Thursday, cleaning and doing just about anything. Also, students help on the Saturdays they are open.
New this year, they offer legal assistance to their clients through the North Penn Legal Services office in Bethlehem. A lawyer and a bilingual paralegal come to the food pantry once a month to assist clients with legal issues.
Even though they are considered an emergency food pantry, most of their clients supplement their food stamp stipend, fixed income or other financial setback with the food they receive from the Grace Food Pantry every month. They pride themselves in making their clients feel welcome by offering hospitality and treating them with respect.
Some of the items we can help provide are: cereal, diapers, personal hygiene items, rice, pasta, tuna, canned meat, and paper products.