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As I have mentioned before in several articles, this year our WCHI Food Pantry has been serving almost 1,200 Whitehall and Coplay residents a month. In July 2024, WCHI fed 300 households consisting of 430 children, 530 adults, and 227 seniors totaling 1,187 people. Included in these numbers are 17 new households consisting of 22 children, 27 adults, and 8 seniors for a total of 57 people. In April 2024, we fed 316 households, 430 children, 547 adults, and 242 seniors totaling 1,219 people.
WCHI has almost 1,000 households registered since we opened our Food Pantry on January 14, 2021. Some guests have returned to work and no longer qualify with the USDA income limits based on household size, moved outside our area, have gone into nursing facilities, or passed away. WCHI is 100% volunteer, and we could never provide for every registered household if everyone wanted to come in the same month. WCHI’s Food Pantry is open only two days a month on the 2nd and 3rd Thursdays from 9am-1pm and 4:30-7:00 pm. This is by appointment only. If you need to schedule an appointment, please call 484-225-0358. WCHI could never feed all our guests without the support from Second Harvest Food Bank, the Grants that I have secured through Lehigh County, Trexler Trust, and the Diocese of Allentown. We have very generous residents, local social clubs, faith based & other non-profit organizations, and businesses who also provide food and monetary donations. Our WCHI Board, our guests, and I, THANK YOU ALL! Since we feed so many people monthly, I wanted to share some very interesting statistics. WCHI provides food quantities to our guests based on the household size. Our guests select the food they will eat. WCHI does not pre-package bags of food. Based on data we collected for the last six months, on average, WCHI has 135 households in both the 1–3-person category (45%) and the 4–6-person category (45%) and 30 households in the 7+ person category (10%) of our 300 monthly guests. Our Pantry coordinators maintain this data. I found this very fascinating and wanted to share these numbers with you. I list the total number items in the food category that we disburse monthly: 1020 cans of fruit; 1,320 cans of vegetables; 3,000 protein items (includes canned tuna, salmon, chicken, and beef, peanut butter, and a wide variety of canned beans); 1,020 cereal/breakfast items; 1,020 boxes/bags of rice and pasta; 2,040 ready to eat items like beefaroni, mac & cheese, canned soup; 1,020 snacks; 300 condiment or baking items; 600 beverages (shelf stable milk, fruit juice, and coffee). We also provide 330 - ½ gallons of milk and 330 dozen eggs each month. Also distributed are 5-10 pounds of other dairy, i.e cheese; and frozen items like meat, fish, & fruit. The fridge & frozen food weighs roughly 2,000 pounds a month. And we provide1,020 rolls of toilet paper, 330 boxes of tissues; and 320 packs of sanitary napkins. Do you find this data very informative too? Again, a big THANK YOU to all our selfless Volunteers, Grant Funders, and our public food and monetary Donors. Without you and our wonderful guests, WCHI would not be the successful Food Pantry that we are, upholding our Mission to alleviate food insecurity in Whitehall and Coplay.
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When I was young, my mother was a single mother of three small children. My dad left us when my sister was a baby. My brother was the middle child and has cerebral palsy. I am the oldest. My mother could not work because she had to take care of my brother. We were on welfare and grew up poor, lived in one of the housing projects in Phillipsburg, NJ. We were happy. We didn’t know anything different.
We did not have the fanciest clothes or designer shoes (most of our clothes were hand me downs), but they were always clean. My mother always went without anything fancy for herself. We did not have a tv until I was in 8th grade. It was a black and white small one. But for us, it was wonderful. We had to get up and change the channels. Remote controls weren’t available yet. The main thing was that our mother always gave us love. We always had food on the table and lived in a clean row style home. I remember every Saturday; my mom would make us egg salad and tuna fish sandwiches. We loved it. We had normal breakfasts and nutritious dinners. During grade school in the1960’s, everyone went home for lunch. When we went to middle and high school, we brought a bagged lunch. My mom always gave us an apple for a snack when we came home from school. We did not own a car and walked everywhere we had to go. Our housing project was one block inside the school transportation line, so I, and later my sister, walked a mile to and from high school every day in rain, snow, and sunshine. There was a major grocery store several blocks from our home. We needed to bring the shopping cart home with the four small bags of groceries and always brought the cart back. We never had steak, shrimp, or any of the expensive food items. My mom made a lot of hamburger helper type meals. Honestly, we had thought everyone ate the way we did. And of course, we were teased at school. We knew many others were in the same economic situation we were in and everyone got along. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of Humanity is compassionate, sympathetic, or generous behavior or disposition: the quality or state of being humane. Why am I telling you about my family and my life. It is because I and every WCHI Volunteer, Food and Monetary Donor that helps our Whitehall-Coplay Hunger initiative, though our Food Pantry, Vegetable and Herb Garden, Free Community Meals, and at our Bingo games has HUMANITY. Our Guests truly need us with whatever their life situations entail. Some cannot work due to physical or mental disabilities. Some own or rent their homes but barely manage to pay their mortgage or rent, rental or homeowner’s insurance, and utilities. Others have medical bills and need medicines. Some do not own cars, and rely on friends, co-workers, public transportation, or Uber types to get them to and from work and to our WCHI Pantry. And others are working three jobs just to make ends meet. You are helping WCHI feed on average 1,200 low-income people a month at our Whitehall-Coplay Food Pantry. Our Guests and Everyone associated with WCHI, THANK ALL OF YOU!! August HPI Article Written by Jenn Dietz Oatmeal Raisin Bar Recipe –
I am a person who really enjoys food, which has been my motivation for volunteering at the WCHI pantry. Food is a basic need and it’s important to make sure that everyone has enough. Sometimes it’s easy to be lazy and eat whatever is accessible, what is put on your plate by the person who cooks for you, or to grab fast food on-the-go. I have recently started to become more selective with my dietary choices, while still enjoying a variety of flavors. I am trying to eat more natural foods; Foods that are grown in nature, have originated from plants and have had less manipulation from humans and factories. When I want a snack, I look for nuts or seeds, fruits or maybe something from a box if I see that it has limited ingredients that I know how to pronounce. The WCHI pantry food tasting sample in July was a simple and healthy recipe that fits the above requirements. This was an Oat Bar or Cookie made with only oats, bananas, peanut butter and raisins. I am excited to share this recipe because it has only four ingredients, is natural, fits a minimum of two food groups and I found it to be enjoyable as a snack, a dessert when I was looking for something sweet, and also as a breakfast nibble along with Greek yogurt or a glass of milk, which adds another food group. I will list here the reasons that this recipe is a nutritious treat. There is a saying in the nutrition world that says to “make half your grains whole.” Grains have two subgroups: whole grains and refined grains. Whole grains have the entire grain kernel, which includes the bran, germ, and endosperm. Some whole-grain examples are whole-wheat flour, bulgur (cracked wheat), oatmeal, and brown rice. These are a good source of dietary fiber, which is generally associated with being good for bowel regularity and may be said to help lower LDL Cholesterol. Refined grains have been milled, which removes the bran and germ. This is done to give grains a finer texture and improve their shelf life, but it also removes dietary fiber, iron, and many B vitamins. Some examples of refined grain products are white flour, corn grits, white bread, and white rice. Refined grains should be enriched, which means adding back certain B into enriched grains, which detracts from the healthfulness. Some food products are made from mixtures of whole grains and refined grains, but only foods that are made with 100% whole grains are considered a whole grain food. (Grain info from www.myplate.gov) Bananas are 75% water and they contain potassium, vitamin B6, and vitamin C and antioxidants. They contain fiber, and the natural sugar is better than the unrefined sugar found in candy and cakes. (Wikipedia & healthline.com) Peanut Butter contains protein, fats and carbohydrates and is suitable for plant-based diets. It should not be overconsumed, but does contain many minerals and nutrients including magnesium, folate, vitamins B3, B6 and E, and iron. It also contains oleic acid, a monounsaturated, heart-healthy fat similar to olive oil. (healthline.com) Raisins are a dried fruit and are a good source of antioxidants, fiber, potassium and iron. They are naturally sweet and may be high in sugar and calories, but in moderation (about ¼ cup) are a good addition. (www.webmd.com) Oatmeal Raisin Bars Servings: 12 Recipe from TheBigMansWorld.com These oatmeal raisin bars are soft baked bars loaded with plenty of juicy raisins! Made without oil, butter, or eggs, these healthy raisin oat bars take less than 15 minutes to make! Prep: 5 minutes, Bake: 15 minutes Ingredients: -4 cups rolled oats -1/2 cup maple syrup (optional) -1 cup peanut butter - you can also use smooth almond butter, sunflower seed butter, or tahini. -6-7 medium bananas mashed – approx. 2 cups -1 cup raisins -Add cinnamon and nutmeg for a little more flavor if desired. Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8 x 8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a mixing bowl, add all your ingredients, except for your raisins, and mix well. Fold in raisins, reserving a few to top the bars with. Transfer the batter into the lined pan and top with extra raisins. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until the tops are golden. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, before slicing into bars. 7.31.24 WCHI Pantry Garden Article Written by Gwen Herzog, Pantry Garden Chair
July was a month of substantial growth, but we had great sadness at our WCHI Pantry Garden. The zucchini and pepper plants worked overtime to provide us with a bounty to share with our Pantry guests. Over 60 pounds of peppers and zucchini from our garden were shared during our July distributions. Sadly, the groundhogs ATE ALL our eggplants, many of which were ready to be picked. None were spared! We have begun a groundhog trapping program, but despite our best efforts, our culprits have eluded us. If anyone reading this column has other ideas on how we can capture these critters, or if you are willing to help us be more successful in our efforts, please give me a call at 610-379-6823. We’ve lost one important crop so far. We don’t want to lose more. We have several other crops that are growing well but are not yet ready to be harvested. We have many green tomatoes on our vines, but no color has changed yet. We have at least 6 watermelons growing in two beds and have placed cradles underneath each to keep them off the ground. Tom’s corn plants have tasseled, and most are showing silk. Our winter squash plants are growing nicely, but no sign of fruit so far. Our herbs are a mixed bag. Hannah from The Seed Farm planted additional basil and parsley plants which are still small. We were able to harvest some of our existing herbs for the July 11th Food Pantry distribution. We have a small number of chives and oregano that may be ready for August. Mint remains plentiful. We used the resources of The Seed Farm to help us to diagnose what was eating the leaves of our pepper plants and sunflowers. The damage was consistent with finches, so we placed nylon mesh over our pepper plants to keep them out. Our WCHI Garden Volunteers began to notice that some of our small zucchini were turning yellow before they reached full maturity. The Seed Farm diagnosed this issue as a calcium deficiency in our soil and possibly not watering deeply enough. They recommended removing the affected zucchini, applying natural fertilizer, deep watering at the roots, and mulching. I mixed liquid fish fertilizer with water according to the package directions and applied it around each plant before watering heavily. Because we were also seeing some cucumber beetles, a small amount of vegetable dust was sprinkled on the soil. Finally, each plant was mulched. This activity was completed on Tuesday, July 16th and so far, it seems to be working. I will update you in my next article. At our two July Pantry Food distributions, we were fortunate to have Doria join us. She is a Summer Student Intern at Second Harvest Food Bank. Doria offered our WCHI Pantry guests basil plants to take home to grow on a windowsill or in their garden. She also shared samples of a tasty bruschetta salad with the recipe to take home. If you have thought about planting a fall garden, consider purchasing your plants from The Seed Farm at their Fall Plant Sale on Saturday, August 17th from 9am-3pm and Sunday, August 18th from 11am-2 pm. They are located at 5854 Vera Cruz Rd, Emmaus, PA 18049 (484) 866-6076. I don’t specifically know which plant varieties will be available for purchase, but the focus is on cold and frost-tolerant vegetables and herbs. Did you know that WCHI is a Lehigh Valley Plant-A-Row drop off location? Any extra fruits and vegetables you grow may be left on the table in the foyer at Shari’s Re/Max Unlimited office, 1080 Schadt Avenue, Whitehall, M-F 9am-5pm. All produce will be distributed at our WCHI Food Pantry, at our WCHI Free Community Meals, or shared with other Food Pantries in the Lehigh Valley. Nothing will go to waste. Enjoy your summer! WCHI, the Faith-Based Community, and others are proud to provide these FREE MEALS to low-income Whitehall-Coplay residents twice a month. All are welcome to attend both meals on the 1st Sunday and 3rd Tuesday each month from 4:00-6:00pm. WCHI will post a meal reminder and the meal being served on Facebook and Instagram. It will state if it is an inside sit-down meal, take out, or a version of both. For
questions about 1) hosting and attending our 2025 meal planning meeting in September or 2) guests wanting more info, please call Karen Haberern, Program Chair, at 610-730-3184. I want to give a huge shout out THANK YOU to all the faith-based organizations and others that provide these meals. They obtain the food, prepare the meals, set up the eating areas, serve the meals, and clean up. Many, many hands help to make each meal a huge success. We cannot do this much needed outreach program without YOU, and we truly are grateful for all your support. Each meal site does keep attendance records for the total people served each month. I need to provide data on these meals to Second Harvest Food Bank since I have a Soup Kitchen account. WCHI sometimes orders food for our meal partners. This data reported below is from the time frame September 2023 through June 2024. From this date range, the September data was the last time we had more children and adults attending our meals than seniors. September 2023 attendance: 54 children (ages a baby-17), 81 adults (ages 18-59), and 32 seniors for a total of 167 people served from 85 households. Since November, the seniors have been the largest group by age attending our meals. In January 2024, we canceled both meals due to snow, so we have no data for all the categories. The largest attendance from February through June 2024, was in both April when we served 3 children, 25 adults, and 149 seniors for a total of 177 people served from 148 households. And in June when we served 1 child, 76 adults, 103 seniors for a total of 180 people from 105 households. This year the attendance by far has mainly been our seniors. We have not been able to figure out why the drop in children and adults. Please mark your calendars. These are WCHI’s upcoming Free Community Meals: Sunday, August 4, Muslim Association of the Lehigh Valley, 1988 Schadt Ave., Whitehall 703-346-8698 Sit down with Take out available. While supplies last, MALV also will be giving all school-age children who attend, a school backpack with basic school supplies. Tuesday, August 20 (4:00-5:30 PM) St. John the Baptist (Social Hall behind the School), 3024 S. Ruch St., Whitehall. Put Coplay in your GPS or Coplay Eatery, otherwise you may end up at our WCHI Garden. Call Shari 610 -730-8067 Meal provided by Whitehall Wawa. Sit Down Only. No Take-Out. Sunday, September 1, Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3355 MacArthur Rd., Whitehall 610-435-0451 Sit down with Take out available. Tuesday, September 17, Whitehall Bible Fellowship Church, 3300 7th St., Whitehall 610-434-8661 Sit Down Only. No Take-Out. I also would like to thank all the meal providers for posting our meals in their parish bulletins and have our fliers available for new and repeat guests. And I would also like to thank the Whitehall-Coplay Press for including every one of our meals in their Happenings section of the paper. As a community working together, we truly are making a difference in people’s lives. Have a great week! WCHI is pleased to report that we continue to help many Whitehall & Coplay residents. These are the June 2024 statistics. WCHI served 274 households - consisting of 376 children (ages 0-17); 481 Adults (ages 18-59); and 199 Seniors (Ages 60+) for a total of 1,056 people. We also had 16 new households consisting of 54 people. Our Pantry attendance has been ranging between this June low and April’s high of 316 households consisting of 430 children, 547 adults, and 242 seniors for a total of 1,219 served guests.
Unfortunately, WCHI did have 101 June scheduled guests that did not show up. We give our guests appointment cards monthly. We normally have an average of 25 “no shows”. Many times, our guests forget their appointments, are called into work, or do not have transportation on distribution days. WCHI is perplexed why so many people did not show (1st time ever) since food and gas prices remain high. Because WCHI has a Lehigh County Food Grant through the federal government, we need to keep demographics for each household that attends our Pantry distribution. This government form is based on household size and income. The Pantry guest fills it out and signs it. The new year started for this data on May 1,2024 and is two months (May & June) of non-repeat households. I wanted to share some of this grant demographic info with you. For the two-month period, WCHI served 17 moderate income households with 63 people; 95 low income households with 360 people, and 224 Extremely low income households with 918 people. We had one “other” household with two people. All total, WCHI served 337 households for 1,343 people. Race and Ethnicity include - White 196 households with 646 people; Black/African American18 households with 94 people; Asian 11 households with 69 people; American Indian/Alaska Native 4 households with 26 people; Asian & white 2 households with 17 people; Black /African American & White 1 household 5 people, other multi-racial 105 households with 486 people. This makes up the 337 households and 1,343 people in the previous paragraph. Also, in the race section Hispanic and Latin ethnicity numbers are already included but separately are 152 households and 705 people. The government has this as a separate category on the form. Also, of the 337 household and 1,343 people; other traits include: Disabled 75 households with 234 people; Elderly (age 62 and older for this form) 101 households and 291 people, and head of the household is a female 157 households with 602 people. We could not serve all our wonderful guests without Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB), the generous public who donate money for us to purchase food, and all those who do food drives and donates food at my office. From 1/1-6/14/24, WCHI ordered from SHFB 111,489 pounds of food, valued at $17,947. WCHI’s cost to SHFB was $764.23. WCHI also started to weigh all the donated food we receive from food drives and the food donated to my office. From 1/1/-6/30/24, the donated food weighed 9,141.36 pounds. And we received many monetary donations. Because of YOU, WCHI is feeding so many Whitehall & Coplay residents. We really appreciate all you do for us and our guests. Thank you all! 7.11.24 WCHI HPI Pantry Article written by Jenn Dietz Beans as Protein
I grew up in a home that followed a diet that might be classified as “meat and potatoes”. Our meals were simple and met our needs, but I don’t think we strayed far from the basics of a meat, a starch and a vegetable on our plates. In my adult life I have tried to include more variety for my family including ingredients that would have been considered unusual when I was growing up, such as quinoa, lentils, and beans…even if it requires hiding them in a soup or stew by mashing them into the broth. MyPlate.gov offers more information about foods in the protein group. Eating a variety of proteins gives the body more of the nutrients it needs. Protein is a building block for bones and muscles. Many people do not know that beans are a great source of protein and fiber. They are less expensive than meats and are great for a vegetarian or vegan diet. Beans, peas, and lentils; and nuts, seeds, and soy products are part of the MyPlate Protein Foods Group. A cup of beans is the protein equivalent of 4oz of lean meat. Beans, peas, and lentils belong to a group of vegetables called “pulses.” This group includes all beans, peas, and lentils cooked from dry, canned, or frozen, such as: kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, pink beans, black-eyed peas, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), split peas, pigeon peas, mung beans, soy beans, and lentils. Beans, peas, and lentils are also part of the MyPlate Vegetable Group. I love that they naturally cover both categories. On our WCHI pantry protein shelves, there is a selection of canned meats, such as and chicken, salmon, tuna, and beef, and there is also a second protein shelf of canned and dry beans. We usually offer black beans, kidney, cannellini, pinto, and garbanzo (chickpeas). They are very versatile in menu planning when you start to get a little creative with this ingredient, since they can be eaten in cold salads or in hot dishes, mashed into dips such as hummus, or even eaten right out of the can. At the pantry, we try to offer a tasting sample each month using an ingredient found in the pantry that is also within our Healthy Pantry Initiative guidelines of low salt / low sugar, as well as to provide a new recipe idea. In June, we shared an easy bean salad recipe from www.MyPlate.gov that is simple to put together and is great to make in the summer heat. I hope you enjoy it, too. *Note - I prefer to double the recipe and use full cans of beans, then there’s no need to drain; It can be served as its own side dish or is great to add to a green garden salad. I also added a can of corn for color and fiber. Marinated Three-Bean Salad Serving Size: 1 1/3 cup (230g) - makes 4 servings Ingredients: -1/2 can cannellini (white) beans, low-sodium (8 ounce) -1/2 can cut green beans, low-sodium (8 ounce) 1/2 can red kidney beans, low-sodium (8 ounce) 1 onion (medium, chopped) 1/2 cup celery (chopped) 8 ounces Italian salad dressing Directions: Wash hands with soap and water. Drain the canned beans, Peel and chop the onion & celery. In a large bowl, combine the cannellini beans, green beans, kidney beans, onion, and celery. Pour the Italian dressing over the vegetables and toss lightly. Cover the bowl and marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour. The salad can be left in the refrigerator overnight. *Drain before serving (optional) Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative Pantry Garden Article – July, 2024
Written by Gwen Herzog, Pantry Garden Chair Since my last article, our tomato, pepper, eggplant, watermelon, zucchini, and herbs have been growing nicely! Tom’s sweet corn bed has not had a lot of germination, but what is growing looks great. We spent the evenings of June 18th and June 24th weeding, watering, and admiring just how great our garden looks. We have small tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. The watermelon plants are starting to run. The zucchini doesn’t yet have flowers, but the plants are sturdy and spreading. In one of the available beds, we planted winter squash seeds which have sprouted and are getting their second set of leaves. On June 18th and again on June 24th, we tied up our tomato plants. The high winds on the 24th brought only a gentle breeze to the Pantry Garden; however, something has been eating many of the leaves on our sunflowers and it has even begun to nibble some of the leaves on a few of our pepper plants. Fortunately for us, Hannah White, Greenhouse Manager from The Seed Farm, will be visiting our garden Thursday, June 27th to check out our progress. Hopefully she will be able to offer advice on how to stop the attack on the leaves and give us other advice on how to keep our garden growing its best. Thank you to our Pantry Garden neighbor, Walter, for dropping two large, beautiful tomato plants at the garden. Thank you also to the anonymous donor who dropped cherry tomato and bee balm plants at Shari Noctor’s office. We planted the bee balm at the Pantry Garden and due to limited space, we repotted the cherry tomato plants and gave them out at the June 13th food distribution. Thank you to the local farmer who donated several flats of tomato plants and some cabbage plants. These were also given out at the June 13th distribution. All the plants, especially the tomatoes, were extremely popular! Our Pantry guests were very happy to take home a plant or two for their own indoor or outdoor gardens. At the June 20th food distribution, we were able to share over 10 lbs. of herbs which were grown in our Pantry Garden. We had a very large amount of mint that we shared along with smaller amounts of cilantro, dill, basil, chives, and oregano. In the coming months, we expect to continue to offer cut herbs from our garden. We are also expecting that The Seed Farm will provide us with individual basil plants for our Pantry guests to take home and grow on their windowsill or in their garden. A new challenge for us this season is that our water tank is now empty. Each week we spot water (water each plant individually using watering cans) from our water barrels that have been filled from the water tank. Due to lack of rain, our tank has not sufficiently filled to allow us to water beyond July 2nd. If we don’t get rain in the next week, we will be forced to request that the Hokendauqua Fire Department provide us with some water to make it through this dry spell. Don’t forget, volunteers are welcome to join our Tuesday 6-7 p.m. work nights at the Pantry Garden. Each Tuesday throughout the summer and fall we weed, water, and harvest. No experience is needed, and no clearances are required. We have plenty of extra gardening gloves and gardening hand tools ready for you! Use the address: 3540 South Ruch Street, Whitehall in your GPS. Questions? Give me a call at 610-379-6823. Happy July 4th! I would like to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to these wonderful organizations and people who helped WCHI recently:
Knights of Columbus Council #4050 (which covers Whitehall, Coplay, Northampton and Catasauqua) and Council #10921 introduced their first joint CORNHOLE Charity Tournament at Egypt Park on May 18th. This event was a huge success and 48 teams participated. The two councils split their proceeds. Council #4050 presented a $3,400 check to WCHI to be used for Pantry food. Council 4050 also has several members who regularly volunteer with WCHI: Gary Buschta, Bob Falkenstein, Tom Ganser, and John Halko. Anna Daumer, Whitehall WAWA Store Manager, has helped WCHI for many years. She provides WAWA bags for the refrigerator and frozen food items our guests select. Whitehall WAWA is also doing a Free Community Meal for WCHI on Tuesday, August 20th in the Social Hall behind our Pantry from 4:00-5:30 pm. Most recently, on both June 13th and June 20th, the store managers of the Lehigh Valley Region under Cody Lilly, Area Manager, volunteered and helped our guest’s select the food items they will eat in our Pantry; restocked our food shelves; and helped put the food in our guest’s cars. WCHI greatly appreciated and needed their help during both evening food distributions this month. The WAWA store Managers were from Union Blvd, S 4th St, and Gordon St, Allentown; Broadway, Fountian Hill; Schoenersville Rd, Bethlehem; and Hamburg. We greatly appreciate everything WAWA does for WCHI. WCHI has been feeding over 300 Whitehall and Coplay households; 1200 people monthly including children, adults and seniors. We are 100% volunteer based and really need more cleared volunteers to help us with the increase in Pantry attendance. Contact [email protected] for the Pantry. We also need help at our Pantry Garden. Gwen and her team have planted many vegetables and herbs that are given to our Pantry guests. Contact Gwen at 610-379-6823. School Community Service Hours are also available over the summer and during the school year at both our Pantry and Garden. We have three local Whitehall Churches who monthly take just one food item of the many WCHI requests, and their congregations provide that one item to us. First Presbyterian of Hokendauqua- all kinds of pasta; St John the Baptist Church - canned tuna; St Peter Roman Catholic Church - cereal. Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church does a regular monthly food drive with all kinds of donated items. We can always use more cereal, any kind of pasta, spaghetti sauce (plastic jars) and peanut butter. Taylor Villas also does subdivision food drives for us. Would your business, subdivision, service club, or social club like to collect a specific item for our Pantry or do a Food Drive for WCHI? I also would like to once again thank all the “ANGELS” that provide food and monetary donations for WCHI that are dropped or mailed to my RE/MAX Unlimited office, 1080 Schadt Ave, Whitehall. If mailing a check, please make it payable to WCHI. WCHI is a 501C3 Public Charity. Your monetary donation may be tax deductible. Please check with your financial advisor. Thank you EVERYONE and have a great week! WCHI currently feeds over 1,200 Whitehall & Coplay residents monthly consisting of 430 children (a baby-age 17), 550 adults, and 220 seniors (age 60+). Food items needed, that we cannot obtain from Second Harvest Food Bank, include peanut butter, cold cereal, any kind of pasta, condiments, and spaghetti sauce (no glass bottles please). Store brands are fine. Please deliver to my Re/Max Unlimited Real Estate office, 1080 Schadt Ave, Whitehall M-F 9am-5 pm
This time of year, I write an article on Food Safety. People do not realize if food is undercooked or not held at proper temperatures, people do get sick and make visits to the emergency room. It is especially important just to remind you of some food safety guidelines and tips. This valuable information is taken directly from “USDA Urges Consumers to Keep Clear of the Danger Zone This Summer” Released by USDA’s Food Safety Education Staff. Please read the entire article from May 17, 2016, which still holds true today https://tinyurl.com/3s8pnk4e I didn’t have a chance to submit this before Memorial Day weekend. “Summer cookouts are right around the corner and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is urging consumers to remember the four simple steps to food safety — Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill — and to steer clear of the “Danger Zone” while cooking outdoors. What is the Danger Zone? The Danger Zone is the temperature range in which bacteria can grow faster. Bacteria can actually double in number in as little as 20 minutes when perishable food is kept in the Danger Zone. In order to steer clear of the Danger Zone, you should always:
As always, we remind consumers to follow the four steps to food safety when preparing dishes for a cookout:
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