​I wanted to write part of this week’s article on Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania (SHFB).  This is to inform you what they do for the community and what they do for Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative.  The SHFB info comes directly from their website https://shfblv.org/  
 
“SHFB mission is to obtain food and distribute it to people in need through area non-profits, and to provide resources for education and advocacy to end hunger.
 
In October 1982, the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, Inc. (CACLV) created the Lehigh Valley Food Bank (LVFB). Starting with a network of about 15 agencies in Lehigh and Northampton counties, what has come to be known as Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB), today, serves 200 agencies in a six-county area: Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, Pike, and Wayne counties. From the beginning the two-fold objective of SHFB was 1) the distribution of food to needy people; and 2) the elimination of waste in the food industry. To discourage food industry waste, SHFB seeks donations of unsaleable, but edible, product from local companies.”
 
Second Harvest receives funding from the Federal, State and Local Governments along with private donations from the general public. WCHI and other Food Pantries in Lehigh County do benefit from food purchased by Second Harvest with Lehigh County funding. 
 
WCHI has three accounts with SHFB. I wanted to inform you of the poundage of food we obtained and the value of the food received in 2021. The food that WCHI orders is FREE to us.  WCHI could never serve as many households and residents as we do without our partnership with SHFB. A HUGE shout out THANK YOU goes to all the employees of Second Harvest. They all have been wonderful to work with.
 
Soup Kitchen account is for our Children’s Summer Feeding Program (CSFP) and our Free Community Meals.  While most faith based partners do not request food from WCHI to prepare the bi-monthly meals, some sites do need some food items.  Food for the CSFP makes up 99% of this amount.  WCHI ordered 22,344 pounds of food for a value of $22,977.

Snack Pack Pals (SPP). WCHI fully administers the Snack Pack Pal Program (SPP) with assistance from WCSD and St Elizabeth’s Regional School.  We had food items left over from the CSFP that we used for SPP.  Therefore, we did not order as many items as we normally would.  Total food ordered 1,628 pounds for a value of $2,062.
 
Our Food Pantry public attendance has more than doubled in one year and I reported our numbers last week.  For 2021, WCHI ordered 122,297 pounds of food with a value of $133,068. WCHI does not have this kind of cash on hand.
 
SHFB is not a grocery store and not all items are available every week.   SHFB provides WCHI 100% of our refrigerator and frozen foods and 97% of our fresh produce. The remaining 3% produce comes from our WCHI garden and the Knights of Columbus at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church. This 3% was used for our CSFP. The rest was all given to our Pantry guests.

I put out requests for items WCHI needs that SHFB does not have.  Our community has been so generous in supplying many of the items we need.  You can see these items at https://tinyurl.com/WCHIPantryList       
 
Note:  Refrigerated, frozen, perishable or homemade items WILL NOT be accepted due to food safety liability reasons.
 
Thank you all for your continued support to accomplish Our Mission: To alleviate food insecurity in Whitehall and Coplay. 

​My apologies, our January 13th 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 non-stop for both the morning and evening distribution.  And our volunteers and guests were so glad to have sunny weather even though the temperature was only in the 30’s.
 
On 1/13/22, 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% increase from our 1/31/21 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 heard from: word of mouth from existing guests;  their neighbors, families, and neighbors; saw the info in the Whitehall Township and Coplay Boro newsletters or my weekly article in the Whitehall-Coplay Press; and many come from the Whitehall-Coplay School District’s robo call, 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 https://tinyurl.com/WCHIforms   If you are interested in helping us with any of our programs, please sign up so we know you are working on them  https://tinyurl.com/WCHIvolunteer  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 5 years.  Please contact Sylvia Lee, WCHI’s Volunteer Coordinator with any questions at Volunteerme.Lee@gmail.com  
 
Our Free Community Meals have been very well attended.  St. Peter Roman Catholic Church, 4 South 5th St., Coplay 18037 will host our next meal on Sunday, February 6th.  This will be a take-out meal. Questions, please call 610-262-2417.
 
WCHI and the Faith-Based Community are proud to provide these FREE meals to low-income Whitehall-Coplay residents twice a month through December 2022. The host locations change every time and they will decide if masks are required.  All are welcome to attend both meals on the 1st Sunday and 3rd Tuesday each month from 4:00-6:30pm. Meals are guaranteed for the first 100 guests and doors may be locked if the meals are all given out before 6:30.  Each site location will state if this is an inside or outside “Drop and Go” pick up 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, please see them at https://tinyurl.com/WCHIprograms                                        
 

​WCHI’s next Free Community Meal will be on Tuesday, January 18th and is hosted by Redeemed Christian Church of God, 5 N 3rd St, Coplay.  This is an outside “pick-up” distribution from 4:00-6:30pm and is guaranteed for the 1st 100 people.  Food may not be available through 6:30 pm. The distribution is on a 1st come 1st served basis.  Questions, please call 610-262-8993.
 
WCHI and the residents are so appreciative of all our faith based partners who host our bi-monthly meals.  You are all providing a much needed Outreach Program for our residents.  Thank you!!
 
WCHI will be starting our 2022 Children’s Summer Feeding Program planning meetings on Tuesday, January 25th at 11am at our Pantry located in the school building at St John the Baptist Church Complex, 3024 S Ruch Street, Whitehall.  This is open to the public and we can always use more volunteers.  Park in the back parking lot, walk down the driveway to the right of the school, and come in the 1st door on the left.  All WCHI volunteers need clearances.  https://tinyurl.com/WCHIforms   Please call me with questions.
       
WOW, a whole year has gone by since we opened our WCHI Food Pantry. We had a great attendance last Thursday at our Pantry distribution!  Our guests are always so grateful for the food and toiletries. We had the warmest day of the week (30’s) and we were all thankful we did not have snow!!
 
On 1/13/22 we served 177 households comprised of 639 residents; 266 children, 281 adults, and 92 seniors (age 60+)!! We also registered 41 new households. The car attendance lines are always non-stop.  When we opened last year on 1/11/21, we served and registered 91 households comprised of 113 children, 141 adults, and 54 seniors.
 
WCHI has registered 500 households during the last year.  Some guests come every month; due to Covid-19 some were laid off and now have returned to work; some do have two jobs and a family member or neighbor picks food up for them.  Many seniors unfortunately have to choose whether to pay for their medicine or pay for food.  And gas prices are not helping these households. There are many dynamics why people need food.  We understand their hardships and know their reasons for coming. I am so glad we can help so many people!!
 
 
A couple times a year, I write about being kind to others.  A simple smile, holding a door open for someone, or calling someone just to say hello, uplifts the human spirit and makes their day.
 
WCHI has been so blessed with fantastic volunteers, great monetary and food/toiletry donors, and a very compassionate community, who work together to help us achieve our Mission: To alleviate food insecurity in Whitehall and Coplay.  My quote is always “Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative is making a difference in people’s lives.”  And we truly are doing this!!
 
Our community is helping our community.  Everyone involved with our programs have been kind to others and have been touched in one way or another.   Volunteers give their time and talents; donors give their treasures; and our guests gives us smiles, tears, and thankfulness that people truly care about them.  Everyone needs help in their lives at one time or another.   Thank you all for your part in community helping our community.
 
My favorite quote by far is “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”  - Margaret Mead
 
Here are three others I like:
 
Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.” —Jackie Chan.
 
“You cannot do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson.
 
“Because that’s what kindness is. It’s not doing something for someone else because they can’t, but because you can.” —Andrew Iskander.

​Reminder:  This Thursday, January 13th is our WCHI Food Pantry distribution in the parking lot at St John the Baptist Church complex, 3024 S Ruch St, Whitehall 11am-1pm and 5:30-7pm.
 
This article is to request items WCHI needs for both the Food Pantry and for Snack Pack Pals.  Faith based organization, civic groups, businesses, and a group of friends and neighbors can do a food drive Please inform us that you are a drive by registering at https://tinyurl.com/WCHIdrive
               
The WCHI Food Pantry provides monthly food distributions to those needing assistance.  Due to current COVID circumstances, we must pre-pack and distribute food in plastic grocery bags. Please note the suggested sizes to assist us in keeping bags manageable for distribution, including plastic, not glass jars, when possible. Thank you! Your donations are greatly appreciated.
 
On average, WCHI provides food to 250 households monthly.  Needed Pantry Food items include:  Boxed Potatoes 4-5 oz; Boxed Stuffing (like Stove Top) 6oz; Canned Beans – Baked beans, Black, Kidney, Northern, etc -15oz; Canned Soup - 15oz; Cereal - regular and whole grain-12oz; Chef Boyardee – 18oz Cans; Granola /Cereal Bars – 5-10 bars per box; Hamburger Helper; Mac & Cheese Boxes;  Oatmeal Packets - Boxes of 6-10 packets; Pancake Syrup - 24oz; Rice - 1 lb bags/boxes, plain or flavored; Rice & Pasta Sides – Such as Knorr Pasta or Rice Packets, Shelf Stable Milk – 32oz; and Tomato/ Spaghetti Sauce

We also need the following toiletry items: Diapers - Baby and Adult; Feminine Products; Shampoo & Conditioner; Soap; Tissues; Toilet Paper; Toothpaste; and Toothbrushes.
 
Please Note:  Food and Toiletries should be placed in separate bags.  Refrigerated, frozen, perishable or homemade items WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED due to food safety liability reasons.    
 
WCHI also fully administers the Snack Pack Pal Program (SPP) with assistance from WCSD and St. Elizabeth’s Regional School.  The mission is to combat hunger for the most food-insecure students at both schools by providing a pack of kid-friendly, easy-to-prepare meals and snacks to supplement their nutrition over school holidays and long weekends. On average, WCHI provides 157 bags of shelf-stable food to WCSD and 10 bags to St. Elizabeth’s monthly.
 
Please purchase the specific items as they provide the best nutritional value and allow us to easily label each serving with ingredients and allergen information to the ensure safety of our students. Needed SPP items:  Cereal – Whole Grain Variety Pack, Small Boxes .75-2.5oz; Sam's Club Brand Fruit Cups – Diced Peaches or Mandarin Oranges; Welches or Motts Fruit Snacks; Quaker Chewy Granola Bars; Jif to Go Peanut Butter – 1.5 oz pods; Kraft Macaroni & Cheese - Microwavable Single Serve Cups - 2.05oz; Quaker Brand Oatmeal Packets; Snack Pack Brand Pudding Cups - 3.25oz; Knorr Pasta or Rice packets; Shelf Stable Milk - 8oz; and Individually Labeled Snack Bags (Chips, Doritos, Pretzels, etc.) - 1oz
 
All food and toiletry donations are appreciated and may be shipped to or dropped off at Re/Max Unlimited Real Estate, 1080 Schadt Ave, Whitehall, PA 18052.  Please leave your donations inside the foyer on the right, Monday through Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 9am-1pm & Sunday 10am-1pm.   Monetary donations are also appreciated.  Please make your check payable to WCHI and put the program you want the money applied to in the memo section. Please mail to WCHI at the Re/Max address above. 
 
For our guests who receive WCHI food, Please Note: Canned items are good 5 years after their best buy date, which is only a freshness date.  WCHI does not provide cans that are dented, swollen, or rusted because they are not safe and are thrown out.  Boxed items stay good two years after their freshness date. 

​Best wishes to everyone for a healthy and happy New Year!! 
 
WCHI’s bingo will be held at Commitment to Family & Community, 165 Cherry St, Coplay on Sunday, January 9th.  Doors open at 1 pm.  Call Liz for more details 484-274-6687.
 
Our Food Pantry distribution will be on Thursday, January 13th at St John the Baptist Church parking lot, 3024 S Ruch St, Whitehall 11am-1pm and 5:30-7:00pm. For more info call 484-225-0358.
 
We are in need of 12oz cereal boxes and instant oatmeal with 8-10 packets for next week’s Food Pantry distribution.  All Donations are appreciated and may be shipped or dropped off to my office, Re/Max Unlimited Real Estate, 1080 Schadt Ave, Whitehall, PA 18052.   Please leave your donations inside the foyer on the right, Monday through Friday 9AM- 5PM, Saturday 9AM-1PM & Sunday 10AM-1PM  THANK YOU!!!
 
This is a great time of year to host a Food and/or Toiletry Drive for WCHI.  Food and toiletries should be placed in separate boxes.  We are always in need of toiletries: toilet paper, tissues, soap, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, feminine napkins, baby and adult diapers.  Food items include: all kinds of soup, pancake syrup, an jelly.  Our website should be updated later this week with other needed items https://tinyurl.com/WCHIPantryList   If you decide to do a drive, please let us know at https://tinyurl.com/WCHIdrive   WCHI would like to promote your drive on Facebook.
 
Please note: WCHI does not accept any refrigerated, frozen, or homemade items from the public for liability reasons.  All our refrigerated and frozen foods are temperature controlled and come directly from Second Harvest Food Bank. 
 
The Federal and State government have specific rules for Food Safety.  WCHI is required to have a ServSafe Certification to be a member of Second Harvest.  Several volunteers do have this certification, which needs to be renewed every five years.  I will share some basic tips that everyone should know about when handling food at home to prevent foodborne illnesses, which can cause sickness and death.  Some of this information comes from the 7th Edition of SERVSAFE Manager book.
 
There are four main risk factors that cause food to become unsafe:
 

1. Food has suffered Time-Temperature abuse.  This can be from thawing frozen food improperly (like sitting on a kitchen countertop for hours instead of being placed in a refrigerator) or not cooking food to the required internal temperatures to kill pathogens that make people sick.  It is good to purchase a food thermometer to make sure the following food items meet these internal cooking temperatures degree Fahrenheit:  seafood 145; whole cuts of beef and pork 145, ground beef and ground fish 155, whole and ground poultry 165.  Also, these uncooked food items should also be placed in the same shelf order in your refrigerator or freezer to prevent food contamination if any of the uncooked juice spills onto another food product.  Bread should always be on the top and chicken should always be on the bottom.

 
2.    Cross contamination – This occurs when pathogens transfers from one food surface to another. This can happen when ready to eat food touches contaminated food surfaces -like an apple touches an unwashed cutting board that just had raw chicken on it. Or a contaminated wiping cloth touches the apple.
 

1. Poor personal hygiene – include failing to wash hands often and correctly, sneezing and coughing on food, and head or arm scratching and then touching food.

 
4.    Poor cleaning and sanitizing – happens when equipment and utensils are not washed, rinsed and sanitized between uses.
 
I hope you found these risk factors informative.