Rain or shine, the volunteers at the Northampton Area Food Bank, 1601 Canal St., are always committed to serving the community.

Despite the cold and rainy morning Oct. 30, three dedicated volunteers took park in the food bank’s scheduled walkathon on the semi-flooded path of the Canal Park walkway.

The annual event was supposed to showcase Northampton residents walking in their Halloween attire to raise funds for the food bank, but the inclement weather halted everyone at their doorsteps.

Pamela Williams, Linda Caprioli and Donna Stein quickly realized they would be the only participants after the registration time period flew by without anyone enrolling and when the lingering clouds released their final buckets of rain as soon as the event was set to begin.

The small-but-mighty group waited for the quick shower to pass before heading out to earn the money they had raised for the walkathon.

The dedicated trio are weekly volunteers for the food bank. They help maintain and organize, with Kelly Frantz as the leader. Williams has been with the organization since 2008 and can be found assisting Frantz with packing groceries, receiving loads and maintaining the food bank on a daily basis. It is clear the local organization thrives because of its caring, generous and giving volunteers.

The food bank is currently organizing its donations for the Thanksgiving holiday - items like canned green beans, canned potatoes, boxed mashed potatoes, canned cranberry sauce, canned corn, pumpkin pie mix, pie fruit fillings and any other nonperishable item that belongs on the holiday dinner table.

The community organization is always looking for volunteers to help pack and distribute, but proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required due to the high-risk populations the organization often serves.

The current distribution schedule runs 5-7 p.m. Thursdays and 9-11:30 a.m. select Saturdays. Residents can also pick up extra produce or register for the food bank 9:30-11:45 a.m. Wednesdays.

For inquiries on volunteering or becoming a member, visit Home of the Northampton Area Food Bank on Facebook and contact someone via Messenger.

The Northampton Area Food Bank would like to thank its sponsors for their consistent donations. Local chains such as Redners, Giant, Walmart, Sheetz, Wawa and Target provide weekly donations for the food bank, and their help makes a huge impact on the Northampton community.