I want to remind our readers Whitehall Township has two food pantries and Coplay Borough has one to help low-income residents who need food.

The Coplay Food Bank is for Coplay residents only and is open 8:30-10 a.m. the second Tuesday of the month. The pantry is in the lower level of the borough building, 98 S. Fourth St., Coplay. For more, call 610-262-0928.

Whitehall Food Pantry, founded in 1974, is located next Whitehall High School at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 3900 Mechanicsville Road, Whitehall. The pantry is open 6-7 p.m. Mondays by appointment only. For more information, call 484-246-5715.

The Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative Food Pantry opened Jan. 14, 2021.

It is open 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and 4:30-7 p.m. the second and third Thursdays every month. Appointments are required. For more, call 484-225-0358.

I wanted to compare our August 2023 and August 2024 WCHI pantry attendance and the guests we served. We occasionally have emergency food requests.

For August 2023, WCHI served 252 households consisting of 1,000 guests comprised of 363 children, 442 adults and 195 seniors. In August 2024, WCHI served 242 households consisting of 913 guests comprised of 328 children, 408 adults and 177 seniors.

WCHI had several guests not show up for their appointments in August. This happens for a myriad of reasons, such as illness, no transportation, changes to work schedules, starting a new job, etc.

September’s pantry distribution was a totally different story. We were super busy the last two weeks, with most guests keeping their appointments. I am anxious to see September’s month-end totals. They may surpass our highest attendance, which was in April, when WCHI served 316 households consisting of 1,269 guests comprised of 430 children, 547 adults and 292 seniors.

Our guests either like to prepare cooked meals from scratch or like to have ready-to-eat food like tuna, soup or canned ravioli.

WCHI appreciates all our public support. We are in need of boxes of oatmeal, boxed potatoes, canned fruit (low sugar or light fruit syrup), canned tuna, cereal, macaroni and cheese, jelly, pancake mix and syrup, pasta and one-pound bags of brown or white rice. The pantry also needs ready-to-eat items like canned ravioli and SpaghettiOs; any kind of soups, including creamed, chunky, chicken noodle and vegetable; spaghetti sauce; and Stovetop stuffing mix. All the food items can be store brands. We request no glass jars, please.

Monetary donations, payable to WCHI, and food can be mailed to or dropped off 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays at Re/Max Unlimited, 1080 Schadt Ave., Whitehall. The office is closed weekends.

Thank you again for all your support, and have a great week!