Local Food Pantries team up to freshen things up
Carol Doyle and volunteers with the Nutrition Coalition take in donations of fresh fruit and vegetables in front of the ShopRite store in Hatfield Township on Saturday morning March 2,2013. Photo by Mark C Psoras, The Reporter.
In the doldrums of winter, before spring kicks into full gear, fresh produce isn’t on everyone’s mind. On Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., three local food pantries reminded shoppers at the ShopRite in Hatfield of its necessity and scarcity on their shelves.
The Nutrition Coalition, a network of local food providers working together to increase access to healthier food and nutrition education, handed out shopping lists to interested shoppers entering the ShopRite store. Potatoes, green beans, onions, apples, oranges and bananas were among list items the pantries were looking for.
When all was said and done, they collected 701 pounds of fresh produce that will stock local pantries this week.
“Our clients are so thrilled when they come in and see fresh produce to choose from,” Janet Hague, of the Emmanuel E.C. Church food cupboard in Hatfield.
It seemed nearly every shopper came out with something to add to the collection. Volunteers, directors and board members from Manna on Main Street, a soup kitchen and food pantry in Lansdale, and Keystone Opportunity Center, a food pantry in Souderton, were on hand to discuss their programs.
Babita Zaveri, a Manna board member, also works at Univest in the same shopping center.
“I’ve been seeing a lot of my customers,” Zaveri said. “They like to hear that the food stays right here in our own communities.”
The coalition hosts three fresh produce drives a year, usually around times when the pantries have more room and aren’t super stocked from holiday food drives. They are always in need of fresh produce, because donations often come in the form of canned goods.
All donations collected are split equally between the seven pantries in the coalition, including Manna on Main Street and Lamb Foundation in Lansdale, Keystone Opportunity Center in Souderton, Hatfield Church of the Brethren in Hatfield, Emmanuel Evangelical Church in Hatfield, Shepherd’s Shelf in Towamencin and Bethlehem Baptist Church in Spring House. The Food Trust, based in Philadelphia, manages the coalition with funds from the North Penn Community Health Foundation. Anyone interested in learning more about the Nutrition Coalition can contact Gabriella Mora at (215) 575-0444, ext. 190.
From Jennifer Connor. (2013, March 2). Local Food Pantries team up to freshen things up. The Reporter. Retrieved from: http://www.thereporteronline.com/article/20130302/NEWS01/130309908/local-food-pantries-team-up-to-freshen-things-up?mobredirect=true#full_story
The Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch also covered this story on March 4, 2013.