Denise Continenza, chair of the Communities That Care group, attended our Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative meeting Nov. 22.

She relayed a great posting she saw on Facebook that was intended for Advent (the four Sundays before Christmas), but this can be done monthly or as often as you wish to participate. I mentioned to our meeting attendees that this would be the article I will write in December.

Everyone shops at a favorite grocery store, whether it is Giant, Redner’s or Weis, in our local area. In the store’s weekly promotional flier, it offers multiple buy one, get one free products. Sometimes, the deal is buy two, get one free. And once in a while, it is even buy one, get two free!

I am urging you when you happen to purchase a nonperishable item that is at least one free, please put this free food product aside for one of our two food banks.

Continenza said she has a box at her home for this purpose. When she shops now, one item goes in her home pantry and one goes in the box for the food pantry. What a great idea and a free way to help our food pantries.

As you already know, our two food pantries help people all year, not just at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Below is just a reminder of the needs and locations and time of our pantries.

Whitehall Food Pantry, located in St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 3900 Mechanicsville Road, serves 200 adults, including 35 seniors and 114 children, a month on average. That is 349 people each month. Food is distributed 6-8 p.m. Mondays. The pantry’s food comes from Second Harvest, local grocery stores, church parishioners, residents and businesses like you.

Doreen Wagner oversees the pantry and can be reached at 610-443-0503. Please make your donations 6-8 p.m. Mondays. You also can drop off donations in the main entrance of the Whitehall Township Municipal Building, 3221 MacArthur Road, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The Coplay Food Pantry is located in the Coplay Municipal Building, 98 S. Fourth St. It serves 20 people a month 8:30-10 a.m. the second Tuesday. The food mainly comes from donations from church parishioners, residents and businesses.

Louise Kren oversees the pantry and can be reached at 610-262-9351. Please make your donations 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the borough office.

Both food pantries are in dire need of all kinds of food - soups (not tomato), juice, pancake mix and syrup, jelly, peanut butter, canned peas, tuna/canned meat, noodles for soup, instant mashed potatoes, pasta/rice side dishes, canned pasta like canned ravioli and Chef Boyardee, Hamburger/Tuna Helper, healthy snacks, any brand of coffee, small packs (10-20 bags) of tea and hot chocolate. They also are in need of deodorant, brushes and combs, toothbrushes, toothpaste, feminine products, and baby and adult diapers.

The Whitehall Food Pantry is in need of warm clothing, coats, boots, hat, scarves, gloves, etc.

The Coplay Food Pantry only distributes food.

For Christmas, Coplay’s pantry needs turkeys, chickens and hams.

Whitehall purchases these from local grocery stores with funds donated throughout the year.

You can send a check payable to the Whitehall or Coplay pantries at the locations mentioned. Just put Wagner’s or Kren’s name on the envelope.

Whatever you donate, the Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative and the Whitehall and Coplay food pantries want to give you a big thank you for helping us feed the hungry.

A big thank you also goes out to whomever put the words on the lighted marquis at Eberhardt and MacArthur roads that read, Happy Thanksgiving - Feed the Hungry. Thank you!