I would like to review what a wonderful year Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative had and how it helped so many low-income households in Whitehall and Coplay.

I tried to create a Roseto story here with residents helping their neighbors, friends and family. WCHI has achieved this goal. Thank you!

WCHI began in 2015 and received our 501(c)3 charitable organization status in 2017. We offer many outreach programs, and I will address the work we have completed in 2021.

First, I want to recognize the 65 adult volunteers who obtained all our required clearances. Most of our clearances are child abuse ones required by state law. Since we work with everyone in the household, including children, and offer children’s programs, all adult volunteers must provide copies of our requirements before they are permitted to work with us. These adults along with many middle and high school students, who need community service hours, assist us by sorting, packing and distributing food for many of our programs.

We could not do any of our outreach programs without these selfless and committed volunteers, who always have a smile on their faces and want to help wherever they are needed.

Thank you to all our monetary, food and toiletry donors and community partners, including Whitehall-Coplay Press, Second Harvest Food Bank, Lehigh County, Allentown Diocese, our faith-based partners, DanJon Management, Whitehall-Coplay School District, Whitehall Township and Coplay Borough, along with a myriad of service organizations including Knights of Columbus, Whitehall Lions, Whitehall Area Rotary Club, Minsi Trail Boy Scouts, Whitehall and Coplay libraries, local businesses and so many others.

Without products to provide, WCHI could not help so many in our community. We also have many silent contributors, who drop off products daily at my office. I do not know who you are to personally thank you. We need and appreciate all of you!

The pantry opened Jan. 14 with outside bagged food distributions held monthly on the second Thursday in the parking lot at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Whitehall.

In 2021, we registered 393 households. Not everyone comes monthly. We provide enough food to prepare five meals per person. We had a total yearly attendance of 5,361 people, which includes adults, children and seniors - for a total of 26,805 meals provided.

Our children’s summer feeding program ran at six locations from June 16 to Aug. 25.

WCHI provided 1,504 bags of food for a total of 7,726 meals to Whitehall and Coplay low-income children. There were five different bags of food items provided on a rotating basis to the children throughout the summer.

Our WCHI garden located at Mickley-Prydun Farm was cultivated by Anne Chickilly and her husband, Erik Sagan. They grew 680 pounds of fresh vegetables, including tomatoes, cucumbers, banana peppers and zucchini. Fresh vegetables were provided to the children at our summer feeding program.

WCHI administers the Snack Pack Pals program with assistance from WCSD and St. Elizabeth Regional School. The mission is to combat hunger for the most food-insecure students at both schools by providing a pack of kid-friendly, easy-to-prepare meals and snacks to supplement their nutrition over school holidays and long weekends. On average, WCHI provided 157 bags of shelf-stable food to WCSD and 10 bags to St. Elizabeth’s monthly.

Our free community meals are provided by our Whitehall and Coplay faith-based partners 4-6:30 p.m. on the first Sunday and third Tuesday of the month, while supplies last, for low-income households. Hot meals are provided by the host church for 100 guests on a first-come, first-served basis.

The host location decides if the meals will be bagged pickup only, an inside sit-down meal or a combination of both. These meals are well attended.