Every year, as we get closer to Thanksgiving, people start thinking about what they are thankful for. Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative has been blessed with so many people helping us feed more than 1,000 Whitehall and Coplay residents a month.

We are very grateful for the Diocese of Allentown and St. John the Baptist Church for allowing us to operate our food pantry in the former Christ the King School; Lehigh County for all the pantry grants who were approved; all our wonderful, selfless volunteers; and all the generous monetary and food donations we receive from the public at large.

We are especially grateful so many low-income residents are attending our pantry for needed food. No one should be hungry, and we are here to help.

At our morning food distribution Nov. 16, I asked several pantry guests and volunteers to write down what they were thankful for. These were their responses in no special order.

• Amber: my family

• Emily: my friend Paula

• Jim: my family’s and my good health

• Gail: my family and our military friends and their families

• Kim: the health and happiness of my family and friends

• Liz: thankful for family and God’s blessings to enjoy them all

• Angela: from the bottom of my heart for the food pantry

• Karen: for all the blessings I have been given

• Betty: for my good health at age 97

• Lana: God’s blessings on our family

• Melissa: for God’s many blessings

• Cindy: that I am able to volunteer and, of course, my family

• Randy: this food pantry. They saved my house.

• Al: for all the volunteer pantry bakers that keep all our volunteers very well nourished

• Bill: for St. John the Baptist allowing us to use their space and enabling us to serve so many in need

• Jumana: for all the pantry volunteers and what you do for us, and thank you for your smiles. Everyone is so nice, and I love you all so much!

• Nathalie: for my family

• Llinet: for my family, friends, my life and being alive

• Dulce: for my kids

• Jodi: for my family, friends and my community’s support

• Shabnam: for my family and a healthy life

• Mabel: for my family and everything that happens in life

• Jeremy: for every day, new opportunities and new beginnings

• Walter: for the big blessing of this food pantry and all the wonderful people who give their time to help so many people. God bless everyone.

• Fadia: for my family, my health, for being in the USA and for all your pantry support

• Julie: for health, family and great people with warm hearts that God sends to warm our lives with love and support

• Crystal: for my family and their health

I did not think of doing this for our morning and evening food distributions Nov. 9. Unfortunately for our night distribution Nov. 12, we were short staffed with volunteers and had an enormous number of guests to feed, so I did not have any spare time to ask what our guests or volunteers were thankful for.

WCHI is very thankful to give food to our guests, and they are all so thankful to receive food.

For both the Nov. 9 and 16 distributions, WCHI had two special, decorated Thanksgiving food racks full of holiday items for our pantry guests to select, including Stove Top stuffing, macaroni and cheese, boxed scalloped and au gratin potatoes, corn muffin mix, cranberry sauce, canned pumpkin and cake mixes.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and week!

What are you thankful for?