I am pleased to spotlight, Jacob Hausman, who was instrumental in everything at Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative’s temporary food pantry at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fullerton. Jake was present every day and every hour it was open from March through August before he had to return to Kutztown University to begin his junior year.

Hausman is a Whitehall High School graduate and is majoring in elementary education and minoring in cinema, TV and media production. He is also an Eagle Scout and usually works the Minsi Trail Boy Scout Trexler summer camp, where he is the music and arts director.

We all wish Jake a great year and will sincerely miss him.

Hausman had the organizational skills to lay out our pantry and coordinate our entire pantry operation in the most efficient use of the Fritze Social Hall. We use 18 8-foot tables, four 6-foot tables, seven pallets and three pews, which are against the outside wall.

Pews contain all the paper and household products, including toilet paper, toothpaste, paper towels, etc. Pallets are for all canned goods and are against the back wall adjoining the kitchen, which houses overstock items.

In front of the pallets are multiple tables for all the children’s food items. In the middle are tables where the assembled children’s bags were placed. The farthest end of the hall has a large area with all the household food items. There are two additional tables - one for baby food and one for dog and cat food.

My husband, Tom, transports 1,500 to 5,000 pounds of food from Second Harvest Food Bank weekly. One week in the early summer, we had 22-pound fresh USDA produce boxes to distribute to each household along with our regular food order. That was 12,500 pounds of appreciated food. He had to make two trips.

The week before our distribution, there are a couple two-hour shifts with 10 volunteers each. This is when the 250 household, 325 children’s and 250 toiletry bags are assembled for the following week’s distribution. The tables are mainly depleted after this is completed.

The kitchen is used for overstock, which is brought out after the bags are assembled. When Tom picks up food from Second Harvest again the following week, the truck is unloaded and then reloaded with the items for the Coplay distribution.

We have been distributing food every two weeks for six months now. Time has really flown by. We adjusted a few things in the early months. We thank the many volunteers who have made this operation work seamlessly.

Every volunteer who comes to help at the pantry - whether unloading our truck; unpacking the boxes of donated item from the public, Second Harvest and our two personal shoppers; sorting all the products and putting them in their specific locations; packing the bags; packing our truck for the Coplay distribution; or helping with the Whitehall and Coplay distributions - must fill out a COVID-19 form provided by Second Harvest verifying they are healthy. Everyone wears a mask and gloves. We follow all Second Harvest and state mandates.

Everyone at WCHI extends a huge thank you for all the time, effort and love put into helping our community. Once again, thank you for the outpouring of public support you have given to us and the food-insecure residents of Whitehall and Coplay over the last six months. We could not do this huge outreach program without you and Second Harvest!

We again need your help in providing this week’s requested food items, which include baked beans, canned vegetables, chicken noodle soup, Hamburger Helper, Knorr pasta or rice sides, large cereal boxes and individual cereal boxes or cups, toilet paper, microwaveable macaroni and cheese, chicken ramen noodles, canned pasta, Jif to Go, peanut butter/cheese snack crackers, individual juice boxes/pouches, fruit cups and boxes of raisins.

Monetary donations are also accepted to purchase needed items. Please make your check payable to Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative and put COP in the memo section. Monetary and product donations can be dropped off or sent to my attention to my Re/Max Unlimited office, 1080 Schadt Ave., Whitehall. Monetary donations can also be made at whitehallcoplayhungerinitiative.org.