I am pleased to provide statistics on Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative Food Pantry’s attendance for the fiscal year July 1, 2022-June 30.

All food pantries that work with government supplied food are on this fiscal year.

WCHI provided 48 food distributions. We report unduplicated data, which is counting households and guests only one time - no matter how many times they attend our pantry. WCHI has accurate data for people registered for the entire year.

Our unduplicated numbers for this fiscal year are 485 households; 1,812 guests consisting of 688 children ages 0-17; 843 adults ages 18-59; and 281 seniors ages 60 and older.

Through our computer software, WCHI also has counted every guest who attended at least two or more times during the year. These numbers are incredible, and WCHI is proud to be helping so many residents - 10,844 people, consisting of 3,910 children, 4,792 adults and 2,142 seniors.

WCHI sincerely thanks Second Harvest Food Bank, Lehigh County Board of Commissioners for grants WCHI has requested and obtained and the generous public who consistently provide us with both food and monetary donations.

Second Harvest is not a grocery store, and the food items are extremely limited. Without all these partners working with WCHI, we could never feed as many people as we do. Thank you, everyone!

Our food pantry is open 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. and 4:30-7 p.m., by appointment only, the second and third Thursday of the month. We close the doors promptly 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Our reservation slots are usually 95% reserved.

Guests sometimes forget their appointments, get sick or do not have transportation that day. New guests are always welcome, but appointments are strongly recommended.

WCHI works indirectly with USDA through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture though Second Harvest to provide food to our income-eligible guests.

“The Emergency Food Assistance Program is a federal program that helps supplement the diets of low-income Americans, including elderly people, by providing them with emergency food assistance at no cost,” according to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. “Through TEFAP, the U.S. Department of Agriculture purchases a variety of nutritious, high-quality USDA foods and makes those foods available to state distributing agencies.

“The amount of food each state receives out of the total amount of food provided is based on the number of unemployed persons and the number of people with incomes below the poverty level in the state,” the Food and Nutrition Service continued. “States provide the food to local agencies that they have selected, usually food banks, which, in turn, distribute the food to local organizations, such as soup kitchens and food pantries that directly serve the public. These funds must, in part, be passed down to local agencies. TEFAP is administered at the federal level by the Food and Nutrition Service, an agency of the USDA.”

I wanted to explain briefly how we qualify each of our pantry guests. Since we are now in July, new Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture self-declaration of need forms must be updated for each household receiving food from our pantry. Typically, this form is reviewed and signed once a year.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program is operated in accordance with USDA policy, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. Eligibility is based on certain income guidelines.

I am happy the household income limits were increased for the new fiscal year. The total household income is based on 185% of poverty. This month, our guests will verify their income as mentioned on the forms. No proof of income is required at the time of registration.

Guests then sign digitally, which is applied to their registration form in our computer software program. The process goes seamlessly but will add approximately five minutes per guest at registration.

The household income is based on the day guests come into the pantry. If their income goes up, and they no longer qualify, they need to let us know, and WCHI cannot give them food.

On the other hand, for those who have had a decrease in income and they now qualify, they need to contact us to make an appointment to become new guests. We have this many times with seasonal workers.

WCHI is here to help food-insecure Whitehall and Coplay residents. Call 484-225-0358 with any questions.