My apologies that our Jan. 13 pantry distribution numbers were reported incorrectly last week. We forgot to provide the adults, children and seniors included in the 41 new households registered that very busy day. We ran nonstop for both the morning and evening distribution. Our volunteers and guests were so glad to have sunny weather, even though the temperature was only in the 30s.

On Jan. 13, WCHI served 218 households, which included 354 adults, 356 children and 104 seniors - for a total of 814 people who received food from us that day. This is a 264-percent increase from our Jan. 31, 2021, opening day distribution when we served 91 households and 308 people.

Many of these new households are coming from several different sources. When we register our guests, we ask them how they learned about the food distribution. They hear by word-of-mouth from existing guests, neighbors, families or friends; saw the information in the Whitehall Township or Coplay Borough newsletters or my weekly article in the Whitehall-Coplay Press; or from Whitehall-Coplay School District’s robocall, texts and emails sent to low-income households registered in the district.

We could not do this large operation without all our volunteers who generously donate their time and talents. Because WCHI’s programs work with children, each of our volunteers must have required state and WCHI clearances, whether or not a specific volunteer actually works directly with a child. WCHI has 65 cleared volunteers, with more signing up weekly. Please review our clearances at tinyurl.com/WCHIforms.

If you are interested in helping us with any of our programs, please sign up at tinyurl.com/WCHIvolunteer, so we know you are working on them. There are several required clearances, and you can do them within a couple of weeks. There is no time limit, and you can go at your own pace. Once obtained, the clearances are valid for five years. Contact Sylvia Lee, WCHI’s volunteer coordinator, at volunteerme.lee@gmail.com with any questions.

Our free community meals have been very well attended. St. Peter Roman Catholic Church, 4 S. Fifth St., Coplay, will be hosting the next meal Feb. 6. This will be a takeout meal. For more details, call 610-262-2417.

WCHI and the faith-based community are proud to provide these free meals to low-income Whitehall and Coplay residents twice a month through December. The host locations change every time, and they will decide if masks are required.

All are welcome to attend meals 4-6:30 p.m. the first Sunday and third Tuesday of each month. Meals are guaranteed for the first 100 guests, and doors may be locked if all the meals are given out before 6:30 p.m.

Each site location will state if this is an inside or outside drop-and-go pickup distribution or if it is a dine-in meal. We will post site requirements on Facebook for each meal.

WCHI and our guests thank you for telling people about our programs. You are all helping WCHI achieve our mission, which is to alleviate food insecurity in Whitehall and Coplay. To learn about our other programs, see them at tinyurl.com/WCHIprograms.

Have a great week!