Spring temperatures are expected from the middle to the end of this week. Please pray for good weather for our March 11 food distribution.

We know there are many food-insecure residents in Whitehall Township and Coplay Borough, and we want to provide food to them. Please let your family, friends and neighbors who live in these areas know about us. We are here to help. Many do not have transportation. Can you bring them?

Our pantry is open for drop-and-go bag pickup every second Thursday of the month. We are located at St. John the Baptist Church, 3024 S. Ruch St., Whitehall. Come to the parking lot behind the church at Ruch and Park streets. Times are 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5:30-7 p.m. Please come before we close, as we shut down promptly 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.

This week, we are giving out shelf-stable dry food like rice, pasta, macaroni and cheese, canned tuna and chicken, canned string beans and corn, cereal, pancake mix, peanut butter and jelly and more. There will also be frozen meats, butter, cheese and produce. We also provide a few toiletries, a small amount of baby food and dog and cat food.

Due to current COVID-19 circumstances, we must pre-pack and distribute food in plastic grocery bags, which are kindly donated by Wawa in Whitehall. Keep in mind the suggested sizes to assist us in keeping bags manageable for distribution, including plastic - not glass - when possible. Thank you. Your donations are greatly appreciated.

For our food pantry, we are in need of regular-size cereal boxes; granola or cereal bars, five to eight bars per box; Hamburger Helper; jelly, 18-ounce jars; oatmeal packets, boxes of six to 10 packets; pancake syrup, 24 ounces; chicken ramen noodles in brick form; rice and pasta sides, such as Knorr; Stove Top stuffing; diapers, both baby and adult sizes; feminine products; shampoo; toilet paper; and canned dog and cat food.

All donations are appreciated and may be shipped to or dropped off at my office at Re/Max Unlimited Real Estate, 1080 Schadt Ave., Whitehall, 18052. Please leave your donations inside the foyer on the right.

Donations are accepted Mondays through Fridays 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

We are also helping Leah Saliby, an eighth-grade English teacher at Whitehall-Coplay Middle School, who started and oversees the Snack Pack Pals program in the school district for more than 220 food-insecure children. There will be four distributions at the school, one for spring break in April, two in May and one in June. The food is stored and bags are assembled at our food pantry and delivered to the school.

For the Snack Pack Pals program, we need cereal bowls, oatmeal packets, juice boxes, Oatmega or Simply Protein bars, small boxes of raisins, fruit cups, fruit snacks, canned chicken, ramen noodle bricks and granola bars. These items can also be dropped or sent to my office or dropped off at Whitehall Township Public Library, 3700 Mechanicsville Road, Whitehall, 18052; Coplay Public Library, 49 S. Fifth St., Coplay, 18037; and Dunkin’ Donuts, 3670 MacArthur Road, Whitehall, 18052.

Monetary donations are appreciated and can be made payable to WCHI and mailed to WCHI at 1080 Schadt Ave., Whitehall, 18052. Please write pantry or Snack Pack Pals in the memo section.

Have a great week!