Thank you to Patty Vahey, director of the Whitehall Township Public Library, and staff for donating and packing bags of books and information about the library for each child attending our children’s summer feeding program July 7. We gave away additional books also donated from the library. The children were excited to receive the books!

Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative provided a drop-and-go bag of food to 68 children July 5 and to 71 children July 7.

Michelle Khouri, Whitehall-Coplay School District registrar, sent out a robocall, text and email to the households receiving free and reduced-rate breakfasts and lunches in the district about the summer feeding program and our WCHI Food Pantry distributions. WCHI volunteers also distributed a flier promoting our pantry distribution. Thank you to her and our WCHI volunteers.

Many residents did not know about our pantry. We had record numbers attend our pantry distribution July 8. Many showed us the fliers, and others said the school contacted them. We served 88 Whitehall and 30 Coplay households July 8, including 179 adults, 170 children and 78 seniors. WCHI fed 427 people. The next highest was 389 people May 13.

This month was also the highest number of children served. The next highest number of children served was the 131 April 8.

A big thank you goes out to our fabulous children’s summer feeding program and pantry volunteers who pack and disburse all of our drop-and-go bags. Pantry guests receive four bags of dry food, one bag of frozen meats and fish, one bag of dairy/butter and cheese and one bag of toiletries when we have them. Baby food and dog/cat food will be distributed as needed.

With Khouri’s calls, a few residents called to tell me they work during the day and their children are not allowed to leave the house. If you know anyone else with this issue, have them call me. I will make other arrangements for them to receive food.

My friend Allison Czapp is the director of Lehigh Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local. Fresh Food Bucks not only provides our low-income community members with the freshest, most nutritionally dense food available, it creates additional revenue channels for our local farmers and keeps more money circulating in our local economy. Visit lvfreshfoodbucks.org for more information.

Take your EBT/ACCESS card to a participating location. Shop for SNAP-eligible food items using your EBT/ACCESS card. Buy Fresh Buy Local will match what you spend with free Fresh Food Bucks to buy fresh and local produce up to $10 a day.

The closest farmers market to Whitehall and Coplay is in Northampton, held 3-6:30 p.m. Tuesdays at Municipal Park, Laubach Avenue and Smith Lane. Wild Fox Farm, from Barto, is the only vendor there that accepts the EBT/ACCESS card.

The second closest vendor accepting this program is Hersch’s Market, 129 S. 17th St., Allentown. The market is open 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays.