Time surely does fly!

Patricia Karo and I wrote our Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative children’s summer feeding program grant request to Lehigh County and submitted it by April 10. Now, in July, we are halfway through our summer program.

As always, I would like to thank the Lehigh County commissioners for approving our grant request for $35,000; all our wonderful volunteers who help with all our programs; the Diocese of Allentown; Monsignor Gobitas, Barb Sukanick, Joe Paul and Neal Reenock of St. John the Baptist Church for allowing us to operate out of Christ the King School cafeteria; Second Harvest Food Bank; and all the generous food and monetary donors who support our work.

Without you, WCHI would not be helping as many Whitehall and Coplay residents as we currently are. We are making a huge difference in people’s lives and are fulfilling our mission “to alleviate food insecurity in Whitehall and Coplay.”

I also want to thank both Diane Davidson and Jamie Reed. Davidson is one of several Whitehall Area Rotary Club volunteers who help with the summer program.

She canvassed most of the Maryland Court apartment buildings, putting up fliers in the mail room and laundry rooms. Several households saw the fliers and came out.

Also, Reed, who lives in the Mickley Run apartment complex, canvassed all the Mickley Run apartment buildings July 24 and has 20 new children coming to the next distribution.

WCHI provides a bag of food 10-11 a.m. every Monday and Wednesday for every child in the household, baby through age 18.

The Monday bag includes dry food for two breakfasts and two lunches. The Wednesday bag includes food for three breakfasts and three lunches. These bags also include shelf-stable milk and a salty or sugary snack.

We also provide vegetables from our WCHI garden. Recently, we had zucchini, string beans, cucumbers and tomatoes. Anne, who takes care of the garden, said the green beans and cucumbers aren’t doing so well, so she doesn’t know how much longer we will be getting vegetables from the garden. It has been a hot summer, and they are bringing water in to feed the plants.

The summer feeding program locations are Redeemed Christian Church of God, 5 N. Third St., Coplay; the Maryland Circle school bus stop, Whitehall; the Mickley Run Apartments parking lot by building 350 off Overlook Road, Whitehall; Egypt Community Church social hall parking lot, Park and Church streets, Whitehall; St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 835 N. Third St., Whitehall; and the Third and Leisenring streets school bus stop, Whitehall. Please attend the site closest to your home.

The program’s highest number of children fed for the month so far was July 21. We provided food to 72 children. June 23 was our busiest day, serving 115 children.

We have the capability of serving at least 500 children and need your help encouraging your Whitehall-Coplay family, friends and neighbors to attend. Please let people who are too proud to come know that everyone needs help in life at some time.

We also have books from Lehigh Valley Reads, Cops & Kids, Whitehall Township Public Library and public donations to provide books for the children at each distribution until our last day, Aug. 25.

We are accepting new and lightly used books for toddlers through age 18. You can drop them off 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sundays at my office, 1080 Schadt Ave.

WCHI is definitely here to help. If you are a Whitehall or Coplay resident with children and do not have transportation to get to a distribution site or work during the day, please call or text me at 484-225-0358, and I will make arrangements to provide you with food and books.

For more information on WCHI, visit tinyurl.com/WCHIhome and our Facebook page at tinyurl.com/WCHIfb.

Have a great week!