​Free Community Meals - WCHI and the Faith Based Community are proud to start providing these FREE meals once again to low income Whitehall-Coplay households starting twice a month in October 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.  For more information, please contact me.
 
We are currently doing “Drop and Go” pick up meals at these Faith Based locations in October. Sunday, Oct 3rd: Muslim: Association of Lehigh Valley (MALV), 1988 Schadt Ave, Whitehall 703-346-8698 Pick Up Inside Mask is required. Tuesday, Oct 19th Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 4331 Main St, Whitehall 610-730-3184 Pick Up Outside Mask is optional.
 
Bingo – Sunday, Oct 10th at Commitment to Family & Community, 165 Cherry St, Coplay.  Doors open at 1 pm bingo starts at 2 pm.  Masks are required unless you are on oxygen. $15 gets you in the door and two bingo boards.  Additional boards are $1 and we have 5 paper specials for $5 a book of 5.  Food is available for purchase.  Contact Liz Rodgers with questions 484-274-6687
 
Food Pantry Distribution – Thursday, Oct 14th 11am-1pm and 5:30-7pm at St John the Baptist Church Complex back parking lot, 3024 S Ruch St, Whitehall. 
 
Student & Adult Volunteers Needed for Pantry Distribution -  See https://tinyurl.com/WCHIvolunteer to sign up and https://tinyurl.com/WCHIforms  to see the required clearances.  Contact Sylvia Lee with questions Volunteerme.Lee@gmail.com  
       
Needed Pantry items -   We request these items for the coming holidays: Stove Top Stuffing, boxed Mashed Potatoes, Canned Potatoes, Canned Vegetables, Cranberry Sauce  Other items we can always use:  Canned Applesauce, Canned Beans – Baked beans, Black, Kidney, Northern, etc -15oz; Canned Chicken & Tuna, Canned Fruit, Canned Vegetables, Chef Boyardee – 18oz Cans, Canned Soup - 15oz, Granola /Cereal Bars – 5-8 bars per box, Hamburger Helper , Jelly – plastic preferred – 18oz, Mac & Cheese Boxes, Oatmeal Packets - Boxes of 6-10 packets, Pancake Mix – 32oz box, Pancake Syrup - 24oz, Peanut Butter 16oz, Rice - 1 lb bags/boxes, plain or flavored,  Spaghetti or Pasta, Tomato/ Spaghetti Sauce – Cans or Plastic jars.  Also needed are Diapers - Baby and Adult, Feminine Products, Shampoo & Conditioner, Soap, Tissues, Toothpaste, Toothbrushes, and Toilet Paper.
 
Snack Pack Pals – WCHI is providing packs to both WCSD (200 packs) and St Elizabeth’s Regional School (20 packs).  WCHI will increase packs based on need.  I have enough snack pack food through the winter.  The only item we currently need is Rice & Pasta Sides – (such as Knorr Pasta or Rice packets). 
 
Both food and monetary donations can be shipped or mailed to WCHI c/o Shari Noctor, 1080 Schadt Ave, Whitehall or food can be dropped at my office M-F 9-5, Sat 9-1, Sun 10-1 or dropped at the Whitehall and Coplay Libraries.  Please contact me for more information.
 
WCHI Community Public Meeting – Tuesday, Oct 26th 11am in the Pantry. Masks Required.  We will discuss the items above and Free Senior food boxes for low income households that have one or more seniors age 60+. 

​You are invited to attend WCHI’s Public Meeting on Tuesday, September 28th at 11am in our Food Pantry located in the school building at the St John the Baptist Catholic Church complex, 3024 S Ruch St, Whitehall.  Please park in the back parking lot (access on Park St) and walk down the driveway and come in the 2nd door on the left.  We will be discussing our Food Pantry, Free Community Meals, Senior Boxes, Volunteer Opportunities, and Bingo. 
 
I wanted to write an article that both our Pantry guests and the public can use to make a casserole from ingredients on hand in your homes. Many of these items are in our Pantry distribution bags. This article came from University of Nebraska Extension https://tinyurl.com/dae4s47h and scroll down the page.  I formatted it below to fit on one page in case you wanted to share it.
 
Select food(s) from each category or choose your family favorites.            
1.            Select  ONE Grain: 2 cups dry pasta (elbow macaroni, penne, spiral, bow tie); 1 cup dry long-grain white or brown rice; or 4 cups dry medium or wide noodles
2.            Select ONE Protein:  2 cups cooked ground meat;  2 cups cooked and diced chicken, turkey, ham, beef, pork, or tofu;  2 cups chopped cooked egg; 2 (6 to 8-ounce) cans fish or seafood, flaked: OR 2 cups canned, rinsed or cooked dried beans (kidney,  pinto, black, etc.)
3.            Select ONE Vegetable: 1 (10 to 16-ounce) package frozen, thawed and drained: spinach, broccoli, green beans or peas; 1 to 2 cans, drained and rinsed: mixed vegetables, carrots or corn; OR 2 cups sliced fresh zucchini, kale, tomatoes, potatoes or squash
4.            Select ONE Sauce: 1 can condensed cream soup (mushroom, celery, cheese, or chicken) mixed with milk or water to make 2 cups; 2 cups white pasta sauce; OR 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
5.            Select ONE or MORE Seasonings:  ¼ to ½ cup chopped celery, onion or olives; 1 - 2 teaspoons mixed herbs (basil, thyme, marjoram, tarragon); Pepper and spices to taste
6.            Select ONE or MORE Toppings:  2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese; ¼ to ½ cup shredded Swiss, cheddar, or Monterey Jack cheese; OR ¼ to ½ cup bread, cracker or cereal crumbs
 
Directions:
1.            Wash hands. Cook grains according to package directions.
2.            Spray a 2 to 2½ quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray and then combine all ingredients in dish, except topping.
3.            Cover and bake at 350°F for about 50 to 60 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F and casserole is steaming hot throughout.
4.            Add toppings, if desired and place in oven uncovered for about 10 minutes.
 
For more recipe ideas https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/   Select Nutrition Education
 
Julie Davitt is a WCHI Board Member and is Penn State University’s Nutrition Education Adviser for Lehigh and Northampton Counties.  WCHI would like to schedule a series of nutritional classes in Whitehall & Coplay.  Please contact Julie at jbd14@psu.edu or 610-391-9840 for further information.

​What a fabulous day WCHI had on Thursday at our Food Pantry distribution!!  The weather was perfect (not as hot and humid as in August).  Since we opened in January, our Pantry distribution has been growing steadily.  But on September 9th, we had a huge increase in attendance.  We served 146 households (121 Whitehall and 25 Coplay) comprised of 480 people; 194 children, 211 adults, and 75 seniors (age 60+)!!  We also registered 44 new households. The car attendance lines were very long and non-stop.
 
This was a huge increase from August’s numbers when we served 121 households (95 Whitehall and 26 Coplay) comprised of 411 people; 154 children, 179 adults, and 78 seniors (age 60+).  In August, we registered 16 new households. 
 
Why did these numbers increase?  There are a few reasons, P-EBT monies are coming to an end; Covid unemployment ended; people are still unemployed or just lost their jobs; I had a two page WCHI article in the Whitehall Township newsletter which recently came out and many guests brought it with them; Coplay Boro always has us on their scrolling billboard at Giant; many residents are reading my weekly newspaper article and email blasts; neighbors and family members are both telling guests about us, and some residents are physically bringing people or picking up food for those who do not have transportation.  A huge increase also came from the Whitehall-Coplay School District who sent robo call, texts, and emails out to the households who qualify for free and reduced rate breakfast and lunch. 
 
This was a very busy day for us and for our guests, who waited patiently in very long lines in the morning.  People were already lined up at 10 am.  We open at 11 am and people waited almost 90 minutes before they arrived at our registration area.  People were very gracious and some cried and were so thankful that we could provide food to them.
 
Please do not be fooled when you see newer or expensive cars in our line.  Some of these people are picking up food for others who are working or do not have transportation.  Others have recently been laid off from work.  Many guests have cars that are not in good condition and gas prices are very high for them to be waiting as long as they did. But all were very kind and grateful for the food. Yes, we do have food insecurity in Whitehall and Coplay.  I have been in several of our guest’s homes and have seen what little food they have in their cupboards and refrigerators.
 
As always, I like to recognize and thank our selfless volunteers, who worked non-stop at both distributions 11am-1pm and 5:30-7:00pm. This truly is a huge operation as we need to set up tables with different bagged items at 7-8 stations, which includes fresh produce, different bags of dried food i.e. cereal, rice, pasta, sauce, canned vegetables and fruit, frozen and refrigerated food, toiletries, we did have coffee this time, baby food and dog & cat food.  All the food is pre-bagged and needs to be transported by shopping carts from our Pantry to the parking lot. We planned for a huge turnout, but this was slightly more than anticipated.  We ran out of fresh produce at 6 pm and by 6:15 had to put more food bags together.  Every guest did leave with food.
 
WCHI is always so grateful for our community’s personal words of kindness for what we are doing and for all your food and monetary donations.  We are a community who cares about each other.  And obviously this shows.  Thank you everyone!!

​This article is a recap of WCHI’s Children’s Summer Feeding Program (CSFP). Thank you to everyone who was involved with this wonderful Program. Some children attended our CSFP once, some came when they could, and others came to every distribution.  Our program ran every Monday and Wednesday from 10-11am at six locations (5 in Whitehall and 1 in Coplay) from June 16th though August 25th.
 
WCHI provided 1,504 bags of food to Whitehall and Coplay low income children; 417 bags in June, 517 bags in July, and 570 bags in August.  The following were the number of total bags distributed at our six locations: Cementon 97; Coplay 227; Egypt 70; Fullerton 302; Maryland Circle 339, and Mickley Run 469.
 
On Mondays, we provided dry food for four meals; two breakfasts and two lunches.  On Wednesdays, we provided dry food for six meals; three breakfasts and three lunches. WCHI provided the children with 7,726 meals; 2,200 in June, 2626 in July, and 2,900 in August.  There were five different bags of food items provided on a rotating basis to the children throughout the summer.  The Monday bags of food weighed around 4 pounds and the Wednesday bags weighed around 6 pounds. More children attended on Wednesday.  WCHI provided 8,377 pounds of food to the children including 651 pounds of fresh vegetables from the WCHI Garden!!!
 
In July, Lehigh Valley Reads, the Whitehall Library, and the general public provided books for the children.  From July through August, children selected and kept as many books as the wanted.  They loved them!!
Also in July, WCHI provided a toy for each child for “Christmas In July”.  Steve Parrish, Financial Advisor for Edward Jones, Whitehall hosted a client holiday appreciation party last year.  His clients provided the toys and Steve provided them to us for the children. This was an unexpected surprise for the kids.
 
In August, WCHI also supplied one bag of toiletries to each child including tissues, soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, and deodorant & feminine products for the older children.  Our Lehigh County grant provided the funds for these toiletries, food, and other items related to the program.  Second Harvest provided the majority of the food.  And we had generous monetary and product donations from Whitehall and Coplay residents, faith based organizations and businesses, and others outside the area.
 
Anne Chickilly and her husband, Erik Sagan, grew 651 pounds of fresh vegetables including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, banana peppers, and zucchini at our WCHI Garden at the Mickley-Prydun Farm.  These fresh vegetables were provided every Monday and Wednesday for the children from July through the end of August. The children had big smiles when they saw the veggies. The last three Mondays in August, WCHI also received fresh vegetable donations, which included corn on the cob, from the Knights of Columbus at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Egypt.  Second Harvest also provided fresh peaches and grapes.
 
We could not have provided this much needed Children’s Program without our selfless volunteers!!  Many, many people obtained all our required child abuse clearances and were involved with this operation (which flowed seamlessly) from picking up and unloading the food from Second Harvest; sorting and packing the dry food, fresh vegetables, and toiletry bags; loading and unloading the cars to go to the distribution sites; growing the vegetables; and serving the children for 10.5 weeks.  These volunteers are truly an amazing group of fine people. 
 
For everyone who helped with our Children’s Summer Feeding Program, YOU truly made a difference in these children’s lives!!!