Lancaster Intelligencer Journal - July 14, 2014
Lancaster Pet Pantry offering food and low-cost veterinary clinics
“Right now we’re dealing mostly with cats. But we’ll also be handling dogs over the next couple of months.”
Pet Pantry, a Lancaster County pet food bank that works to keep companion animals from going hungry, has expanded into a new, larger location. “Everything came together for this,” Dr. Bryan Langlois, medical director for the organization, said Thursday. “The more we expand, the more we see the need that is out there.” The nonprofit organization is already operating at its new location, at 26 Millersville Road, Langlois said — although they have not yet opened for “walk-in” visitors. “That will be coming soon,” he said.
Pet Pantry was formed in 2011, under the guiding hand of Director Melody Sanders. “The rationale for us at that point,” Langlois said, “was there was really no organization out there providing food for pets whose owners were suffering from hard financial times.” People were being forced by harsh economic realities to give up their pets — simply because they couldn’t afford to feed them, he said. “A lot of those animals were being turned loose or turned into shelters,” he said. “And there was no reason other than a lack of being able to get food.”
Lancaster Pet Pantry offering food and low-cost veterinary clinics
“Right now we’re dealing mostly with cats. But we’ll also be handling dogs over the next couple of months.”
Pet Pantry, a Lancaster County pet food bank that works to keep companion animals from going hungry, has expanded into a new, larger location. “Everything came together for this,” Dr. Bryan Langlois, medical director for the organization, said Thursday. “The more we expand, the more we see the need that is out there.” The nonprofit organization is already operating at its new location, at 26 Millersville Road, Langlois said — although they have not yet opened for “walk-in” visitors. “That will be coming soon,” he said.
Pet Pantry was formed in 2011, under the guiding hand of Director Melody Sanders. “The rationale for us at that point,” Langlois said, “was there was really no organization out there providing food for pets whose owners were suffering from hard financial times.” People were being forced by harsh economic realities to give up their pets — simply because they couldn’t afford to feed them, he said. “A lot of those animals were being turned loose or turned into shelters,” he said. “And there was no reason other than a lack of being able to get food.”
Pet Pantry held its first food distribution in November 2011, handing out 150 pounds of food in 10 minutes — running out before half of the people there made it through the line. Above, Pet Pantry rescue manager Lori Kelley, left, trims the claws of Clarabelle with the help of volunteer Dawn Armstrong. At right, medical director Dr. Bryan Langlois scoops up donated cat food. “It blossomed from there,” Langlois said. “Now, we have between 230 and 250 families who come in for food monthly.” Recipients must prove economic need to qualify, he noted.
A member of the Lancaster Coalition for Animal Rescue, Education & Services, the Pet Pantry was initially content
to operate out of warehouse space provided to the organization at That Fish Place/That Pet Place, Langlois said.
But as the group’s operations expanded, so did its need for room. The new location has more storage space and additional room for program offerings, the veterinarian said. It’s also more visible. Besides food distribution, Pet Pantry provides low-cost clinics for spay and neuter surgery, vaccinations and trap/neuter/return programs for feral and stray outdoor cats.
“We also have a small rescue operation that we’ve started,” Langlois said. “Right now we’re dealing mostly with cats. But we’ll also be handling dogs over the next couple of months.” Because Pet Pantry does not have kennel space for dogs or cats, it handles a minimal number, he said — 20 to 30 cats at a time, and probably no more than five dogs.
The animals aren’t kept on-site, but are fostered with local families until they can be re-homed. “We have a lot of cats out in foster right now. It’s kitten season,” Langlois said. “It’s not a huge-scale operation, but we try to help the public out as we can.” Most of their strays come from people who contact the agency because “they can no longer keep an animal or they’re moving and can’t take it with them,” Langlois said. “We accommodate as many people as we can.”
Pet Pantry is hosting trap/ neuter/release clinics this summer, including July 17 and 31 and Aug. 21 at the Millersville Road location. Each clinic can handle up to 75 cats, according to a Pet Pantry release. Appointments can be made by calling 983-8878 or emailing [email protected] People who come in with a cat who do not have an appointment will not be served.
Visit Pet Pantry’s website at petpantrylc.org for information on future clinics, as well as information on donating to support the organization.
Pet Pantry is supported almost entirely by donations, Langlois said — as well as occasional fundraisers. The next event is a miniature golf event at Village Greens, Strasburg, from 4-8 p.m. July 26.
A member of the Lancaster Coalition for Animal Rescue, Education & Services, the Pet Pantry was initially content
to operate out of warehouse space provided to the organization at That Fish Place/That Pet Place, Langlois said.
But as the group’s operations expanded, so did its need for room. The new location has more storage space and additional room for program offerings, the veterinarian said. It’s also more visible. Besides food distribution, Pet Pantry provides low-cost clinics for spay and neuter surgery, vaccinations and trap/neuter/return programs for feral and stray outdoor cats.
“We also have a small rescue operation that we’ve started,” Langlois said. “Right now we’re dealing mostly with cats. But we’ll also be handling dogs over the next couple of months.” Because Pet Pantry does not have kennel space for dogs or cats, it handles a minimal number, he said — 20 to 30 cats at a time, and probably no more than five dogs.
The animals aren’t kept on-site, but are fostered with local families until they can be re-homed. “We have a lot of cats out in foster right now. It’s kitten season,” Langlois said. “It’s not a huge-scale operation, but we try to help the public out as we can.” Most of their strays come from people who contact the agency because “they can no longer keep an animal or they’re moving and can’t take it with them,” Langlois said. “We accommodate as many people as we can.”
Pet Pantry is hosting trap/ neuter/release clinics this summer, including July 17 and 31 and Aug. 21 at the Millersville Road location. Each clinic can handle up to 75 cats, according to a Pet Pantry release. Appointments can be made by calling 983-8878 or emailing [email protected] People who come in with a cat who do not have an appointment will not be served.
Visit Pet Pantry’s website at petpantrylc.org for information on future clinics, as well as information on donating to support the organization.
Pet Pantry is supported almost entirely by donations, Langlois said — as well as occasional fundraisers. The next event is a miniature golf event at Village Greens, Strasburg, from 4-8 p.m. July 26.
Community Courier April 2, 2014
Lancaster Pantry
Provides Food For Pets
by Marcella Peyre-Ferry
The Family Center of Gap is the local site for the Pet Pantry of Lancaster County’s pet food distribution efforts on the third Thursday of each month. Program volunteers include (from left) Gap distribution coordinator Dawn Kauffman, Jars of Hope manager Heather Simes and Family Center of Gap executive director Rodney Smoker.
When people have trouble putting food on the table, they also have trouble feeding their pets. Because animals are a part of the family, assisting them can be important to the people who love them.
Pet Pantry of Lancaster County is a nonprofit organization that helps keep pets in their home through pet food assistance, reduced-cost spay and neuter services and rescue efforts. Locally, there is a pet food distribution point at the Family Center of Gap, 835 Houston Run Drive, Gap, on the third Thursday of each month from 5 to 8 p.m. Families that qualify for assistance may receive pet food and other items that can help them support their pets.
Volunteer distribution coordinator Dawn Kauffman heads the pet food distribution effort at Gap. Kauffman is joined by her husband, Omar, and son, David Stickel, to package the needed supplies for each recipient and pack them in a trailer. Kauffman then brings the supplies to the Family Center on the distribution day. Volunteer Bob Fisher provides assistance.
The Family Center of Gap is also the location of Jars of Hope, which assists families with food needs. It was in talking with those recipients that the need for pet food assistance was noted.
"(The need was recognized when) Rodney Smoker (Family Center of Gap executive director) did a survey of Jars of Hope clients who would benefit from animal food. I (then) stepped up and volunteered," Kauffman said. "It just so happened the Pet Pantry was looking for volunteers."
"I said, 'Yes, let's do it.' We knew there was a need and an opportunity," Smoker recalled. "There have been quite a lot of people served, and it has freed up resources for them,” he said.
When a family has financial strains, the cost of pet food can be difficult to include in the budget. Making ends meet can sometimes force people to cut costs in other important areas or in some cases even give up a beloved pet. The assistance with pet food can ease that budget crunch. To qualify for assistance, pet owners must fill out an application in advance and meet financial requirements.
The pet food distribution is not limited to just dogs and cats. Food may also be available for pet birds, fish and all kinds of small animals.
Kauffman reported that the Gap distribution is currently giving out 3,000 pounds of pet food to more than 100 families each month. She explained that cats need about five pounds of food per month, while the amount of dog food for each client is calculated based on the size of the dog. In addition to food, the distribution point often has pet toys or supplies for free or at a very minimal, which have been received as donations.
The Pet Pantry effort depends on donations, corporate sponsors and volunteers. Fundraisers are held from time to time at supporting businesses, along with other events that promote awareness for the cause and provide services.
On Saturday, May 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., there will be a Proud Pet Day at the Pet Pantry headquarters, 237 Centerville Road, Lancaster. The event will feature dog-friendly games, a costume contest and agility dog demonstrations, among other activities.
To find out more about events and ways to help the Pet Pantry or to find the nearest donation drop-off site, readers may go to their website from PCCO's UsefulLinks page or contact Dawn Kauffman at 717-201-3270. More information is also available on Facebook at "Gap Pet Pantry Handout" and "Pet Pantry of Lancaster County."
by Marcella Peyre-Ferry
The Family Center of Gap is the local site for the Pet Pantry of Lancaster County’s pet food distribution efforts on the third Thursday of each month. Program volunteers include (from left) Gap distribution coordinator Dawn Kauffman, Jars of Hope manager Heather Simes and Family Center of Gap executive director Rodney Smoker.
When people have trouble putting food on the table, they also have trouble feeding their pets. Because animals are a part of the family, assisting them can be important to the people who love them.
Pet Pantry of Lancaster County is a nonprofit organization that helps keep pets in their home through pet food assistance, reduced-cost spay and neuter services and rescue efforts. Locally, there is a pet food distribution point at the Family Center of Gap, 835 Houston Run Drive, Gap, on the third Thursday of each month from 5 to 8 p.m. Families that qualify for assistance may receive pet food and other items that can help them support their pets.
Volunteer distribution coordinator Dawn Kauffman heads the pet food distribution effort at Gap. Kauffman is joined by her husband, Omar, and son, David Stickel, to package the needed supplies for each recipient and pack them in a trailer. Kauffman then brings the supplies to the Family Center on the distribution day. Volunteer Bob Fisher provides assistance.
The Family Center of Gap is also the location of Jars of Hope, which assists families with food needs. It was in talking with those recipients that the need for pet food assistance was noted.
"(The need was recognized when) Rodney Smoker (Family Center of Gap executive director) did a survey of Jars of Hope clients who would benefit from animal food. I (then) stepped up and volunteered," Kauffman said. "It just so happened the Pet Pantry was looking for volunteers."
"I said, 'Yes, let's do it.' We knew there was a need and an opportunity," Smoker recalled. "There have been quite a lot of people served, and it has freed up resources for them,” he said.
When a family has financial strains, the cost of pet food can be difficult to include in the budget. Making ends meet can sometimes force people to cut costs in other important areas or in some cases even give up a beloved pet. The assistance with pet food can ease that budget crunch. To qualify for assistance, pet owners must fill out an application in advance and meet financial requirements.
The pet food distribution is not limited to just dogs and cats. Food may also be available for pet birds, fish and all kinds of small animals.
Kauffman reported that the Gap distribution is currently giving out 3,000 pounds of pet food to more than 100 families each month. She explained that cats need about five pounds of food per month, while the amount of dog food for each client is calculated based on the size of the dog. In addition to food, the distribution point often has pet toys or supplies for free or at a very minimal, which have been received as donations.
The Pet Pantry effort depends on donations, corporate sponsors and volunteers. Fundraisers are held from time to time at supporting businesses, along with other events that promote awareness for the cause and provide services.
On Saturday, May 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., there will be a Proud Pet Day at the Pet Pantry headquarters, 237 Centerville Road, Lancaster. The event will feature dog-friendly games, a costume contest and agility dog demonstrations, among other activities.
To find out more about events and ways to help the Pet Pantry or to find the nearest donation drop-off site, readers may go to their website from PCCO's UsefulLinks page or contact Dawn Kauffman at 717-201-3270. More information is also available on Facebook at "Gap Pet Pantry Handout" and "Pet Pantry of Lancaster County."
Community Courier December 18, 2013
GriefShare Support Group To Meet Locally
by Marcella Peyre-Ferry
Group leaders (from left) pastor David Gehman, Wendy Kennel, Sheila Williamson and Jane Rudewick are preparing for the upcoming GriefShare series to be held at Parkesburg Mennonite Church for 14 weeks, beginning on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014.
Parkesburg Mennonite Church will host a GriefShare support group, with meetings each Tuesday evening from 7 to 8:30 p.m. for 14 weeks, beginning on Jan. 7, 2014. GriefShare is a faith-based program taking place nationwide that uses video lessons followed by small group discussions and the support of a workbook to help give people the tools to better cope with the loss of loved ones.
This will be the third year that the church has held the GriefShare sessions. The series has been expanded this year to include a session on dealing with grief in children. "This is not something geared for children, but rather for (their) parents or caretakers," Parkesburg Mennonite pastor David Gehman explained. "Children experience grief as well, but in a different way from adults."
The GriefShare program is designed for adults who feel they need help coping with a loss. "There's something is each session that is valuable, whether you have lost a spouse, lost a child or lost a brother," group leader Sheila Williamson said. "There is value in each (session), if not for yourself to walk your path, then to help somebody else with theirs. That's the real purpose."
Some of the people who have participated in GriefShare in past years have faced a death recently, but for the majority there has been a period of time elapsed since the loss, yet they still are having trouble coping. "It's up to the individual; it may be more difficult when (the loss is) so fresh," leader Wendy Kennel said.
Several people who have attended the program have come with a friend or family member to help them through the experience. "People can certainly come with someone if they feel more comfortable with that," Kennel said. "People don't have to share - you can come and listen; you don't have to talk."
Some participants have been members of the church, but the program welcomes the entire community, and even though there are faith-based components in the session, it is not necessary to be a Christian to attend. The requests from people who are not a part of Parkesburg Mennonite Church is one reason the program is being continued.
Participants may want to attend just one or two sessions in the GriefShare series that they feel are important for them, of they may find they want to participate in all 14 weeks. "Each session is pretty much self-contained. What has happened is that people have stuck with it and really become part of it and come to all sessions," Gehman said, noting that one of the first-year participants is now a group leader.
"Everybody comes with a need to deal with," Williamson added. "There are the underlying issues of grief, pain and sorting it out. Everyone who has been here for a session has gotten something out of it."
This year, there will also be a few guest speakers, including one from the Gap Counseling Center. "This is a significant ministry, but there is sometimes a need for counseling that is a step beyond what we can do," Gehman said.
What the videos and discussion groups do is provide an opportunity to share experiences. "It's providing understanding when you feel like no one is understanding what you are going through," Kennel said.
Parkesburg Mennonite Church is located at 44 E. Second Ave., Parkesburg. For more information, readers may go to the church's website from PCCO's MemberChurches page or call the church office at 610-857-3761.
by Marcella Peyre-Ferry
Group leaders (from left) pastor David Gehman, Wendy Kennel, Sheila Williamson and Jane Rudewick are preparing for the upcoming GriefShare series to be held at Parkesburg Mennonite Church for 14 weeks, beginning on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014.
Parkesburg Mennonite Church will host a GriefShare support group, with meetings each Tuesday evening from 7 to 8:30 p.m. for 14 weeks, beginning on Jan. 7, 2014. GriefShare is a faith-based program taking place nationwide that uses video lessons followed by small group discussions and the support of a workbook to help give people the tools to better cope with the loss of loved ones.
This will be the third year that the church has held the GriefShare sessions. The series has been expanded this year to include a session on dealing with grief in children. "This is not something geared for children, but rather for (their) parents or caretakers," Parkesburg Mennonite pastor David Gehman explained. "Children experience grief as well, but in a different way from adults."
The GriefShare program is designed for adults who feel they need help coping with a loss. "There's something is each session that is valuable, whether you have lost a spouse, lost a child or lost a brother," group leader Sheila Williamson said. "There is value in each (session), if not for yourself to walk your path, then to help somebody else with theirs. That's the real purpose."
Some of the people who have participated in GriefShare in past years have faced a death recently, but for the majority there has been a period of time elapsed since the loss, yet they still are having trouble coping. "It's up to the individual; it may be more difficult when (the loss is) so fresh," leader Wendy Kennel said.
Several people who have attended the program have come with a friend or family member to help them through the experience. "People can certainly come with someone if they feel more comfortable with that," Kennel said. "People don't have to share - you can come and listen; you don't have to talk."
Some participants have been members of the church, but the program welcomes the entire community, and even though there are faith-based components in the session, it is not necessary to be a Christian to attend. The requests from people who are not a part of Parkesburg Mennonite Church is one reason the program is being continued.
Participants may want to attend just one or two sessions in the GriefShare series that they feel are important for them, of they may find they want to participate in all 14 weeks. "Each session is pretty much self-contained. What has happened is that people have stuck with it and really become part of it and come to all sessions," Gehman said, noting that one of the first-year participants is now a group leader.
"Everybody comes with a need to deal with," Williamson added. "There are the underlying issues of grief, pain and sorting it out. Everyone who has been here for a session has gotten something out of it."
This year, there will also be a few guest speakers, including one from the Gap Counseling Center. "This is a significant ministry, but there is sometimes a need for counseling that is a step beyond what we can do," Gehman said.
What the videos and discussion groups do is provide an opportunity to share experiences. "It's providing understanding when you feel like no one is understanding what you are going through," Kennel said.
Parkesburg Mennonite Church is located at 44 E. Second Ave., Parkesburg. For more information, readers may go to the church's website from PCCO's MemberChurches page or call the church office at 610-857-3761.
Intelligencer Journal / Lancaster New Era November 4, 2013
Pumpkins to fly, splatter, roll for good cause in Atglen
BY MARCELLA PEYRE-FERRY, Correspondent
Now that Halloween is over, leftover pumpkins will be used as livestock feed.
But the cows at Glen Run Valley View Farm in Atglen will have to wait a little longer for this fall treat.
The farm's surplus pumpkins will be thrown, bowled, rolled, carried and finally dumped in an avalanche during the 14th annual Pumpkin Olympics on Saturday. Rhonda and Jeff Stoltzfus came up with the event in 2000 as a way to have some fun with their unsold pumpkins.That was an Olympic year, and the idea of the pumpkin games took off with the Stoltzfus family and friends. Until this year, the event has always been a private affair, but now the event is being used as a fundraising activity for the Parkesburg Point Youth Center.
"Some of the games have stayed the same and we have added a lot more," Rhonda Stoltzfus said. "The seed spit and the pumpkin obstacle course have been (on the schedule) from the beginning, as well as what we call the Pumpkin Chuck."
In that event, she noted, "you take a pumpkin, weigh it and then see how far you can throw it, multiply the weight by the distance and get your score.
"You have to decide: Do you want a bigger pumpkin and not throw it as far or do you want a smaller pumpkin and throw it farther?" Stoltzfus said. The Stoltzfuses are inviting the community to join in the fun and support the youth center, which opens its new facility at 700 Main St., Parkesburg, on Nov. 17. The Stoltzfuses are members of Maple Grove Mennonite Church, which is one of 23 local churches that support the Point in its mission to give area young people a safe place to have fun after school.
The Pumpkin Olympics offer games for all ages. But there are some who take pumpkin sports very seriously. Throughout the day Saturday, there will be periodic demonstrations of serious pumpkin chucking by the Smokin Lamas, a group that has developed a human-powered pumpkin-throwing device. With the device, someone pedals a stationary bicycle in order to build up centrifugal force to propel the pumpkin. The group has taken part in the annual World Championship Punkin Chunkin Competition in Bridgeville, Del.
"Last year when they were here they did about 1,700 feet," Stoltzfus said. "Last year down in Delaware they only did 1,500-something feet but that was the record for their category at that time."
Many of the pumpkin games go on all day, while other contests are set for specific times. The schedule includes: the pumpkin weighted carry, 11:30 a.m.; pumpkin pie eating, 12:30 p.m.; pairs pumpkin race, 1:30 p.m.; cow patty bingo, 2 p.m.; and the pumpkin chuck competition at 2:30 p.m. There will also be a pumpkin-carving contest, with categories for adults and for students in fifth through 12th grades. That event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Younger children can enter, as well, but instead of carving they will decorate and paint pumpkins.
The pumpkins will be provided, but contestants must bring their own tools and materials. Preregistration is encouraged for this event; registration fee is $5 for adults, $2 for students.
The big finale, and the moment the cows anxiously await, is the pumpkin avalanche from 3:30 to 4 p.m., during which truckloads of pumpkins are dumped to roll downhill en masse, making the ground shake as they splatter open like orange fireworks. The few that do not break in the cascade are stomped open by spectators.Then, after all the visitors have gone home, the cows get the chance to graze in the pasture with pumpkins nicely open for them to enjoy.
Glen Run Valley View Farms is located at 280 Lenover Road, Atglen. The entrance fee for the event is a suggested donation of $5 per person, with a maximum of $20 per family.
Most of the activities are free, but there are some separate entrance fees for some events, including cow patty bingo. Barbecue chicken and pumpkin-based foods will be available for purchase. For more information and preregistration for the pumpkin decorating/carving contest, visit the facebook page at www.Facebook.com/GlenRunValleyViewFarm.
Additional information is also available by calling (610) 593-5656 or sending an email to [email protected].
BY MARCELLA PEYRE-FERRY, Correspondent
Now that Halloween is over, leftover pumpkins will be used as livestock feed.
But the cows at Glen Run Valley View Farm in Atglen will have to wait a little longer for this fall treat.
The farm's surplus pumpkins will be thrown, bowled, rolled, carried and finally dumped in an avalanche during the 14th annual Pumpkin Olympics on Saturday. Rhonda and Jeff Stoltzfus came up with the event in 2000 as a way to have some fun with their unsold pumpkins.That was an Olympic year, and the idea of the pumpkin games took off with the Stoltzfus family and friends. Until this year, the event has always been a private affair, but now the event is being used as a fundraising activity for the Parkesburg Point Youth Center.
"Some of the games have stayed the same and we have added a lot more," Rhonda Stoltzfus said. "The seed spit and the pumpkin obstacle course have been (on the schedule) from the beginning, as well as what we call the Pumpkin Chuck."
In that event, she noted, "you take a pumpkin, weigh it and then see how far you can throw it, multiply the weight by the distance and get your score.
"You have to decide: Do you want a bigger pumpkin and not throw it as far or do you want a smaller pumpkin and throw it farther?" Stoltzfus said. The Stoltzfuses are inviting the community to join in the fun and support the youth center, which opens its new facility at 700 Main St., Parkesburg, on Nov. 17. The Stoltzfuses are members of Maple Grove Mennonite Church, which is one of 23 local churches that support the Point in its mission to give area young people a safe place to have fun after school.
The Pumpkin Olympics offer games for all ages. But there are some who take pumpkin sports very seriously. Throughout the day Saturday, there will be periodic demonstrations of serious pumpkin chucking by the Smokin Lamas, a group that has developed a human-powered pumpkin-throwing device. With the device, someone pedals a stationary bicycle in order to build up centrifugal force to propel the pumpkin. The group has taken part in the annual World Championship Punkin Chunkin Competition in Bridgeville, Del.
"Last year when they were here they did about 1,700 feet," Stoltzfus said. "Last year down in Delaware they only did 1,500-something feet but that was the record for their category at that time."
Many of the pumpkin games go on all day, while other contests are set for specific times. The schedule includes: the pumpkin weighted carry, 11:30 a.m.; pumpkin pie eating, 12:30 p.m.; pairs pumpkin race, 1:30 p.m.; cow patty bingo, 2 p.m.; and the pumpkin chuck competition at 2:30 p.m. There will also be a pumpkin-carving contest, with categories for adults and for students in fifth through 12th grades. That event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Younger children can enter, as well, but instead of carving they will decorate and paint pumpkins.
The pumpkins will be provided, but contestants must bring their own tools and materials. Preregistration is encouraged for this event; registration fee is $5 for adults, $2 for students.
The big finale, and the moment the cows anxiously await, is the pumpkin avalanche from 3:30 to 4 p.m., during which truckloads of pumpkins are dumped to roll downhill en masse, making the ground shake as they splatter open like orange fireworks. The few that do not break in the cascade are stomped open by spectators.Then, after all the visitors have gone home, the cows get the chance to graze in the pasture with pumpkins nicely open for them to enjoy.
Glen Run Valley View Farms is located at 280 Lenover Road, Atglen. The entrance fee for the event is a suggested donation of $5 per person, with a maximum of $20 per family.
Most of the activities are free, but there are some separate entrance fees for some events, including cow patty bingo. Barbecue chicken and pumpkin-based foods will be available for purchase. For more information and preregistration for the pumpkin decorating/carving contest, visit the facebook page at www.Facebook.com/GlenRunValleyViewFarm.
Additional information is also available by calling (610) 593-5656 or sending an email to [email protected].
Intelligencer Journal / Lancaster New Era November 2, 2013
For youth, a Point well made
By Debbie Wygent - Correspondent
The Point is a small youth center in the small town of Parkesburg.
However, when the community celebrates the grand opening of the Point's $1.4 million renovation at its new location at 700 Main St. on Sunday, Nov. 17, a nationally known physician will be there to celebrate and encourage the volunteers and youth who make it a place of ongoing local transformation.
Dr. Benjamin Carson, named by CNN and Time as one of the nation's 20 foremost physicians and scientists, will give a keynote address titled "Gifted Hands." Carson is best known for his inspiring rise from poverty to neurosurgery.
Dwayne Walton, executive director of the Point, said he first heard of Carson as a young boy in New York City when his teacher, Miss Terry, told him "about this black surgeon." "Now at 33 to be able to meet him is one of the high points of my life," says Walton, who traveled a path from troubled homeless youth to minister and youth leader at The Point. "He's not here for political reasons," says Kurt Hershey, volunteer chairman of the board at the Point. "Dr. Carson was the child of a single mother growing up poor," Hershey says. "His mother worked hard and that's why we have one of the greatest pediatric surgeons coming to speak to us. She was the difference in his life."
Carson became the top pediatric surgeon at Johns Hopkins at the age of 33. He was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress and is giving back with his Carson Scholars Fund, which recognizes young people for their academic and humanitarian accomplishments.
Hershey, interviewed as he finished a day of volunteer construction work at the Point, says he hopes Carson's presence and words help people realize that young people who hang out at the Point are "not just bad kids." "Our hope is that they are the next leaders," Hershey says. "They're gifted in many ways but just don't have confidence in themselves."
Each evening that the Point is open, between 40 and 60 young people hang out with 10 to 15 adult volunteers — playing basketball, doing homework, taking Khan Academy classes, studying the Bible, listening to speakers, and sharing snacks and meals. Like Carson, they speak their minds during open discussion times, where they discuss their feelings about current events or personal experiences such as growing up fatherless.
Walton says 200 young people regularly visit the Point, which he says aims to transform and empower the youth of Parkesburg and its surrounding communities. He says each student has a job, such as helping to cook or clean up. Some young people have done court-appointed community service at the Point. There also have been on mission and river trips.
Volunteers from 17 area churches are at the Point each month to serve meals and mentor youth in a program called Adopt-a-Night. Walton says Chandal Taylor, volunteer coordinator, plans to expand that program, along with the number of college student mentors.
The chairman of the 13-member Parkesburg Churches Community Outreach (PCCO) says all the churches support the Point "because we have to do something to change things." "The Point is trying to address several problems local youth today have," he says. He says the Point meets the needs of children who are home alone after school unsupervised, those needing homework help, and those who are looking for good, safe recreation and social opportunities. "It used to be mentors from the Point visited some of the students in prison. This is the first year they're visiting them in college." He says Walton has a strong belief in the goodness of God, but also teaches young people they can't wait for God to help them. "They're learning skills and Dwayne is impressing upon them (that) they need to do their part to help themselves". He says by the example of Point mentors, kids "catch on" to Christian values and teaching.
"Before you can talk about faith you have to establish a relationship," says David Gehman, pastor of Parkesburg Mennonite Church.
"The people on staff there are really doing this," Gehman says. "Both the Point and our churches have been trying to bridge the gap between the Point and going to a church. We have to go there, before they will come here."
"We are always looking for more church support," Walton says. "Our goal is to have every night that we are open adopted by a different church, business or organization."
Hershey, the father of two children with disabilities, hopes the Point can also host one special evening a month for young people with disabilities.
The new location — much more spacious and airy than the old Main Street building tucked behind an auto repair shop — has a basketball court, fine arts center, homework lab, cafeteria and commercial kitchen, recreation area, music room, and a girls center with a kitchen and salon.
Walton says the Point has been built on generous community donations and is $211,000 short of reaching its $1.4 million goal to renovate what was formerly Charlie's Thriftway. Construction of an indoor skate park will begin in December, along with an outdoor basketball court. Walton says an on-site dorm for mission groups will cost an additional $200,000 and may not be built for several years.
By Debbie Wygent - Correspondent
The Point is a small youth center in the small town of Parkesburg.
However, when the community celebrates the grand opening of the Point's $1.4 million renovation at its new location at 700 Main St. on Sunday, Nov. 17, a nationally known physician will be there to celebrate and encourage the volunteers and youth who make it a place of ongoing local transformation.
Dr. Benjamin Carson, named by CNN and Time as one of the nation's 20 foremost physicians and scientists, will give a keynote address titled "Gifted Hands." Carson is best known for his inspiring rise from poverty to neurosurgery.
Dwayne Walton, executive director of the Point, said he first heard of Carson as a young boy in New York City when his teacher, Miss Terry, told him "about this black surgeon." "Now at 33 to be able to meet him is one of the high points of my life," says Walton, who traveled a path from troubled homeless youth to minister and youth leader at The Point. "He's not here for political reasons," says Kurt Hershey, volunteer chairman of the board at the Point. "Dr. Carson was the child of a single mother growing up poor," Hershey says. "His mother worked hard and that's why we have one of the greatest pediatric surgeons coming to speak to us. She was the difference in his life."
Carson became the top pediatric surgeon at Johns Hopkins at the age of 33. He was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress and is giving back with his Carson Scholars Fund, which recognizes young people for their academic and humanitarian accomplishments.
Hershey, interviewed as he finished a day of volunteer construction work at the Point, says he hopes Carson's presence and words help people realize that young people who hang out at the Point are "not just bad kids." "Our hope is that they are the next leaders," Hershey says. "They're gifted in many ways but just don't have confidence in themselves."
Each evening that the Point is open, between 40 and 60 young people hang out with 10 to 15 adult volunteers — playing basketball, doing homework, taking Khan Academy classes, studying the Bible, listening to speakers, and sharing snacks and meals. Like Carson, they speak their minds during open discussion times, where they discuss their feelings about current events or personal experiences such as growing up fatherless.
Walton says 200 young people regularly visit the Point, which he says aims to transform and empower the youth of Parkesburg and its surrounding communities. He says each student has a job, such as helping to cook or clean up. Some young people have done court-appointed community service at the Point. There also have been on mission and river trips.
Volunteers from 17 area churches are at the Point each month to serve meals and mentor youth in a program called Adopt-a-Night. Walton says Chandal Taylor, volunteer coordinator, plans to expand that program, along with the number of college student mentors.
The chairman of the 13-member Parkesburg Churches Community Outreach (PCCO) says all the churches support the Point "because we have to do something to change things." "The Point is trying to address several problems local youth today have," he says. He says the Point meets the needs of children who are home alone after school unsupervised, those needing homework help, and those who are looking for good, safe recreation and social opportunities. "It used to be mentors from the Point visited some of the students in prison. This is the first year they're visiting them in college." He says Walton has a strong belief in the goodness of God, but also teaches young people they can't wait for God to help them. "They're learning skills and Dwayne is impressing upon them (that) they need to do their part to help themselves". He says by the example of Point mentors, kids "catch on" to Christian values and teaching.
"Before you can talk about faith you have to establish a relationship," says David Gehman, pastor of Parkesburg Mennonite Church.
"The people on staff there are really doing this," Gehman says. "Both the Point and our churches have been trying to bridge the gap between the Point and going to a church. We have to go there, before they will come here."
"We are always looking for more church support," Walton says. "Our goal is to have every night that we are open adopted by a different church, business or organization."
Hershey, the father of two children with disabilities, hopes the Point can also host one special evening a month for young people with disabilities.
The new location — much more spacious and airy than the old Main Street building tucked behind an auto repair shop — has a basketball court, fine arts center, homework lab, cafeteria and commercial kitchen, recreation area, music room, and a girls center with a kitchen and salon.
Walton says the Point has been built on generous community donations and is $211,000 short of reaching its $1.4 million goal to renovate what was formerly Charlie's Thriftway. Construction of an indoor skate park will begin in December, along with an outdoor basketball court. Walton says an on-site dorm for mission groups will cost an additional $200,000 and may not be built for several years.
Intelligencer Journal / Lancaster New Era October 26, 2013
Lancaster County Pet Pantry
By Fran Pennock - Correspondent
Two years ago, three Lancaster County animal lovers brain-stormed an idea to help people feed their pets in tough economic times. Pet treat company owner Melody Sanders, Crystal Black of Millersville and veterinarian Bryan Langlois co-founded the Pet Pantry of Lancaster County, initially providing pet food to 18 clients. Today it serves 140 clients, distributing 4,500 pounds of dry pet food a month to feed 360 animals. Melody Adams of Manheim Township is a Pet Pantry client who’s grateful for that assistance. “Without their help I’d have to surrender my animals,” Adams says. “My pets are my life. They’re my world. I appreciate so much them helping me keep my animals.”Adams also took two of her household pets — Dopey, a 6-month-old dachshund, and Bella, a 2-year-old Pomeranian — for sterilization and rabies vaccinations through the Fix Lancaster Project.
Pet Pantry applicants must meet financial eligibility guidelines. If approved, clients pick up refillable buckets or smaller bags of dry pet food once a month. Pet Pantry accepts donated pet food and funds. “We add on new clients only if we’re sure we can sustain them,” says Sanders, adding that 68 cat owners are on a wait list because cat food is in short supply, especially for sick cats which need to be on special diets. There’s no wait currently for dog owners. Other pets receiving donated food are birds, ferrets, rats, hamsters, gerbils and tropical fish. The organization recently expanded its services to include basic vaccinations, a spay/neuter clinic and a cat adoption center called Meow Mission. “It just sort of evolved,” Sanders says. “If people can’t afford to feed their pets, they can’t afford vaccines or to fix them, either.” Chrisi Amour, the volunteer coordinating Meow Mission, agrees. “The overpopulation problem is much worse with cats than with dogs. Many more cats need homes. Cats are typically the largest percentage in shelters and many of them are euthanized because there’s no space to house them.” Meow Mission is open four afternoons a week, housing about 12 adoptable cats. Other cats are held in foster homes.
For more information about Pet Pantry’s programs or to donate or volunteer, readers may go to their website from PCCO's UsefulLinks page or call 717-983-8878
Lancaster County Pet Pantry
By Fran Pennock - Correspondent
Two years ago, three Lancaster County animal lovers brain-stormed an idea to help people feed their pets in tough economic times. Pet treat company owner Melody Sanders, Crystal Black of Millersville and veterinarian Bryan Langlois co-founded the Pet Pantry of Lancaster County, initially providing pet food to 18 clients. Today it serves 140 clients, distributing 4,500 pounds of dry pet food a month to feed 360 animals. Melody Adams of Manheim Township is a Pet Pantry client who’s grateful for that assistance. “Without their help I’d have to surrender my animals,” Adams says. “My pets are my life. They’re my world. I appreciate so much them helping me keep my animals.”Adams also took two of her household pets — Dopey, a 6-month-old dachshund, and Bella, a 2-year-old Pomeranian — for sterilization and rabies vaccinations through the Fix Lancaster Project.
Pet Pantry applicants must meet financial eligibility guidelines. If approved, clients pick up refillable buckets or smaller bags of dry pet food once a month. Pet Pantry accepts donated pet food and funds. “We add on new clients only if we’re sure we can sustain them,” says Sanders, adding that 68 cat owners are on a wait list because cat food is in short supply, especially for sick cats which need to be on special diets. There’s no wait currently for dog owners. Other pets receiving donated food are birds, ferrets, rats, hamsters, gerbils and tropical fish. The organization recently expanded its services to include basic vaccinations, a spay/neuter clinic and a cat adoption center called Meow Mission. “It just sort of evolved,” Sanders says. “If people can’t afford to feed their pets, they can’t afford vaccines or to fix them, either.” Chrisi Amour, the volunteer coordinating Meow Mission, agrees. “The overpopulation problem is much worse with cats than with dogs. Many more cats need homes. Cats are typically the largest percentage in shelters and many of them are euthanized because there’s no space to house them.” Meow Mission is open four afternoons a week, housing about 12 adoptable cats. Other cats are held in foster homes.
For more information about Pet Pantry’s programs or to donate or volunteer, readers may go to their website from PCCO's UsefulLinks page or call 717-983-8878
Community Courier August 21, 2013
Chester County Food Bank Relocates To Larger Facility
The Chester County Food Bank, which provides nutritious food to hungry residents throughout the county, now has a new home.
The food bank recently relocated from its site on Route 322 in Downingtown to a spacious warehouse in the Eagleview Corporate Center, Exton.
While the phone number and the services that the food bank provides will stay the same, the larger space will allow the facility to better serve the network of 30 cupboards and meal sites that it supports.
"We have quadrupled our space," said Anne Shuniak, community outreach and marketing director for the Food Bank, noting that the facility in Downingtown measured 9,600 square feet, while the current home at 650 Pennsylvania Drive measures 36,000-square-feet.
The additional space has allowed the food bank to increase its refrigeration area from 264 square feet to 2,025 square feet and its freezer space from 288 square feet to 1,035 square feet.
Shuniak said the extra space has already proved beneficial. "West Chester Food Cupboard was getting a new floor and they had to (empty) their cupboard. We are storing the food for them while their floors are getting done because we now we actually have the space to hold (the food) for them," she said.
In addition, the large office space allows food bank staff members, volunteers and interns to have their own offices or cubicles. Larry Welsch, the food bank's director, created his office in a former conference room.
"Even our two (truck) drivers have their own space," Shuniak said. "The bookkeeper and controller used to (use) my space after hours, because that's all we had."
The warehouse and facilities only recently relocated, so there is still unpacking to do, and the signs still have to be installed in front of the building, which currently bears the name of the building’s previous inhabitant, CPI Packing. "They did packaging, so (the building did not have) a kitchen and refrigeration," Shuniak said. "Our kitchen is almost triple in size. This will give us much more prep area.” She added that local nonprofit groups may utilize the kitchen.
According to Shuniak, another dehydrator has been added to the kitchen as well. The dehydrator, she explained, enables volunteers to take foods like apples and strawberries and process them into fruit roll-ups, apple sauce and other nutritious foods. Vegetables can also be made into dried soup mix. The refrigeration unit allows for the storage of fresh vegetables that are grown by partner organizations as part of the Gleaning Program.
The food bank also offers a Weekend Food Backpack program, where school children are given food in their backpacks that they can eat over the weekend. The backpacks, which can weigh no more than seven pounds, include items such as healthy snacks, fruit cups and small cans of tuna. "We have to buy a lot of food for our backpack program," Shuniak said. "We always buy in bulk, but we were limited on how much we could buy.” Now, she explained, because of stage, the food bank can buy more food if a very good deal comes along.
In the back of the building, food donors can drive their vehicles into the warehouse to have their donations unloaded. Food is accepted at the facility Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Tuesday evenings during volunteer meetings until 7:30 p.m.
Donations that are especially needed at the food bank include canned fruit and vegetables, canned meat, pasta, cereal, oatmeal and fruit juice, as well as peanut butter and jelly.
The Chester County Food Bank is located near the Town Center of the Eagleview Corporate Center, at the intersection of Pennsylvania and Rice drives. For more information, readers may call 610-873-6000 or go to their website from PCCO's UsefulLinks page.
Intelligencer Journal / Lancaster New Era - 06/30/2013 - 07/01/2013
Poverty moves to the 'burbs
Sharp increase here in number of people outside city getting free school lunches, food stamps Poverty moves to the 'burbs Invisible Safety net
BY GIL SMART, Staff Writer
[email protected]
Shortly before 9 a.m. on a sweltering Wednesday, yellow-shirted volunteers at the Hempfield Area Food Pantry scurry about, preparing for the deluge.
Tables are laden with cakes and breads, shelves stocked with canned foods, cereal and fresh vegetables. Huge bags of rice dominate a corner of one room in the bottom floor of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Landisville, where the food pantry distributes food Mondays and Wednesdays.
There's plenty of food to feed the suburban masses. But the masses are growing.
"We just had 21 new client families sign up last month," President Dave Bleil said. The pantry now serves well over 300 families, an all-time high. Some clients are elderly, some are immigrants who speak little English, and some are on disability.
Some, such as Kimberly Drace, seem like typical suburban moms.
"We've been coming here for about three years," said Drace, as she bounced 1-year-old daughter Brooklyn on her lap and 4-year-old son Dakota played at her feet. She and her husband have six kids to feed -- three of their own, three from his previous marriage.
Her husband works full time, "but we can't get food stamps; he makes too much money," Drace said. "I don't know what we'd do without this."
In the wake of the Great Recession, food pantries, clothing banks and similar operations have seen demand for aid soar. But here and around the country, demand has grown the most where it's expected least: the suburbs.
"There's always been poverty in the Hempfield area," food pantry Vice President Diane Gerlach said. "But nothing like it is now."
In a major study unveiled last month, the Brookings Institution reported that the number of poor people living in suburban areas increased 67 percent between 2000 and 2011 -- more than twice the growth rate in cities.
To be sure, both nationwide and in Lancaster County, poverty remains concentrated in urban areas. In the School District of Lancaster, for example, nearly 81 percent of students qualify for a free or reduced-price school lunch, up from 72 percent in 2005 and by far the highest number in the county.
But in the Manheim Township and Warwick school districts, the percentage of eligible pupils has more than doubled over the same period. In East Hempfield Township, the number of people receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits -- commonly called food stamps -- nearly tripled between 2008 and 2013.
The trend is worrying, experts say, because the infrastructure created to wage war on poverty remains concentrated in urban areas even as poverty has moved out to the suburbs. Despite longer lines at the Hempfield Area Food Pantry and similar operations, the suburban poor remain largely hidden and, as a result, underserved.
"What the suburbanization of poverty means is that [the poor] are now dispersed, less visible, less able to organize, and thus without much of a voice," said Dr. Antonio Callari, chairman of the economics department and director of the Local Economy Center at Franklin & Marshall College.
"Large numbers of the poor will remain poor. But they will suffer their poverty in anonymity."
Defining "the suburbs" in Lancaster County is tricky. Few might describe places such as West Lampeter or East Cocalico townships as "suburban" -- though both have seen a significant amount of suburban development.
And while Lancaster County remains largely rural, new suburban development also has turned portions of the county into "bedroom communities" for Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Baltimore.
But as a whole, Lancaster County is a poorer place than it was.
The 2000 census counted 35,547 people in Lancaster County living below the poverty line, 7.8 percent of the local population. By 2011, the Census Bureau's American Community Survey estimated that the number of local people living below the poverty line had risen to 49,400 -- 9.9 percent.
The ACS uses estimates, and the numbers aren't definitive. But other statistics show that need overall is up -- and increasing faster outside the county's urban cores.
Countywide, the number of residents enrolled in SNAP -- food stamps -- rose from 29,766 in April 2008 to 55,991 in April 2013, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.
In the City of Lancaster, the number of food stamp recipients rose from 15,211 in 2007 to 23,341 this year -- a 53 percent increase. But Mount Joy Township saw a 222 percent increase. East Hempfield Township saw a 152 percent increase; West Lampeter 150 percent; Manheim Township 135 percent.
Some rural municipalities fared even worse. Bart Township saw a tenfold increase -- from 12 people receiving benefits in 2007 to 120 this year. East Drumore Township saw the number of SNAP recipients rise from 40 to 172, a 330 percent rise; West Cocalico Township saw a 361 percent increase, from 71 to 327 over the same span.
Or consider the number of schoolchildren here eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches. In October 2005, 19,216 students at area districts qualified; by October 2012, that number had risen to 27,466.
As has long been the case, the School District of Lancaster had the most eligible pupils.
The 8,563 students eligible in 2005 (72.3 percent of the student body) had grown to 9,043 in 2012 (80.8 percent of the student body). That's an increase of 480 kids.
But in Manheim Township, the number of eligible students rose from 588 to 1,517 -- 929 kids. And eligible students as a percentage of the overall student body more than doubled, from 11.2 percent to 26.2 percent.
Conestoga Valley, Ephrata, Hempfield, Penn Manor and Solanco also saw greater increases in the number of eligible pupils than city schools did.
Suburban and rural districts also are seeing a surge in homeless students. In 2011, according to a story in the Sunday News, the School District of Lancaster had by far the most homeless students, with more than 1,000. But Hempfield outpaced all the other suburban and rural school districts with 297 -- a figure that continues to grow, according to district Superintendent Brenda Becker.
That number increased to 324 for the 2012-13 school year.
"Where you have communities that are more 'walkable,' where it's easier for people to depend on public transportation, that tends to attract more folks in a transient situation," Becker said. "Where you see more rental properties, if they are not on the high end, you will see more transience."
What's going on? The Great Recession is an obvious answer.
"We knew there was poverty in this community," said the Rev. Matthew Lenahan, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Akron, where the Peter's Porch program serves a free hot breakfast the third Saturday of every month and distributes food, clothing and household items.
"We were connected to Akron Elementary School, where one in three students get a reduced-price or free lunch; it wasn't like we woke up one day and it was here."
But when the recession hit, "It was unbelievable -- we went from 60 people coming [to Peter's Porch] to a couple hundred showing up, all within a few months. It just exploded."
Gene Freeman, superintendent of the Manheim Township School District, thinks the economy is to blame.
"More parents/guardians are without jobs or [are experiencing] decreased employment, which directly relates to the increased needs of our student body," Freeman said in an e-mail.
The authors of the Brookings study, Elizabeth Kneebone and Michael Berube, write that the recession hit some economic sectors, such as construction, particularly hard.
In the Cocalico School District, Superintendent Bruce Sensenig says the building industry's woes have been a factor in the increase in Cocalico students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.
"We do have a heavy concentration of builders, electricians, plumbers and trades," said Sensenig. "When that industry declined, we did have more unemployed."
Brookings also cites an increase in affordable housing in the suburbs, writing that by the end of 2010, "roughly half of residents in voucher households lived in suburbs."
Said F&M's Callari: "The assumption has been that if the poor are located in more affluent neighborhoods, they will be better served: More resources would be available to help them, and poorer kids would grow up with more role-model adults around them and have better chances of escaping poverty. But, of course, this is a huge assumption to make."
Whatever the reason, schools, social service agencies, faith-based groups and others who work to alleviate hunger and poverty are seeing a significant uptick in clients, many of whom are seeking help for the first time in their lives.
"A lot of people who come to us have never utilized any kind of public service before," said Lenahan, of Akron's Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church. "They're new to this kind of need, but they'll say, 'Here are our circumstances: job loss, unemployment, high medical bills and rising costs,' most of it resulting from un- and underemployment."
Bob Thomas is president of Tabor Community Services, which like many of the organizations that help the poor in Lancaster County is located in the city. Traditionally, Thomas said, a slight majority of the clients using Tabor's services -- credit counseling, mortgage and foreclosure counseling, housing for the homeless and rental counseling -- have been from the city. But in recent years, he said, the number of clients from outside the city has crept steadily upward.
"Our consumer-credit counselors say that compared to the lower-income people from the city, people from the county are more likely to be carrying debt -- and generally, they're more resistant to giving things up."
That, Thomas said, "suggests you're dealing with people who are accustomed to a higher standard of living, but who have then lost income. ... They can be reluctant to seek this kind of assistance, because it means admitting to themselves that they're really in trouble."
Joan Espenshade founded the "Power Packs" program in 2005, designed to provide food and nutritional information to families in one School District of Lancaster elementary school who were experiencing "food insecurity" on weekends, when school lunch programs are unavailable.
"We started in the School District of Lancaster because it was the most acute need," Espenshade said. But soon, she was getting requests from other school districts; now the projects serves 24 schools in five school districts, including Manheim Township, Warwick and Penn Manor.
"We've noticed a shift in our demographics," Espenshade said. "There are families who were previously two-income families and could easily stop at Ruby Tuesday's and pick up an easy dinner to go. Now they've been downsized and they're struggling with mortgage payments and maybe part-time work; and unfortunately, because they were so comfortably middle class, they have no skills to live in poverty."
But they learn, because they must.
At the Hempfield Area Food Bank, Stacey -- who asked that her last name not be used -- picked out supplies for herself and her 15-year-old son.
"This is actually my first time here," said Stacey, of East Petersburg, who had no idea the food pantry existed until last month.
She's on food stamps; she's been unable to find a job; the food pantry helps her and her son gets by. But she dreams of a day when things are different, when she doesn't need the help -- and can give back in response to what she's received.
"One day, I'd like to be on the other side of this," she said. "Not as the person getting food from the pantry --but as the one donating."
Tomorrow: With governments restricted by tight budgets, churches and nonprofits are stepping up to help the suburban poor.
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They have even less at their disposal
Suburban poor face different challenges than those in city; at times, their mountain is even higher
Reaching out 'Wheels to work' Poverty in the Suburbs - Part 2
BY GIL SMART, Staff Writer
[email protected]
To the extent that there is a "solution" to the problem of burgeoning poverty in the suburbs of Lancaster County -- and America -- it may lie with programs such as Homes of Hope.
A ministry of Love INC (In the Name of Christ), Homes of Hope began with a discussion by pastors in Manheim about how to respond to homelessness in that community. Two transitional homes were opened.
Then the idea spread.
There are now 12 transitional homes in eight local communities, with more in the discussion stage.
And none of the money comes from government, said Kim Wittel, Love INC executive director.
"All funding for Love INC, including for Homes of Hope, comes through donations -- from churches, individuals and businesses/community groups," she said in an email. "We have no government funding at all."
To be sure, local, state and federal government policy and funding must play a role in addressing poverty wherever it's located.
But in this era of austerity and budget cuts, communities may need to help themselves.
Almost to an unprecedented extent, it's happening here in Lancaster County as churches and other nonprofits respond to the growing need. But often there's little coordination, leading to duplication of efforts.
And meeting those needs can actually be more expensive in the suburbs, said Dr. Antonio Callari, a professor of economics and director of the Local Economy Center at Franklin & Marshall College.
"Poor people have a lot of difficulties to deal with, like transportation and health issues," Callari said. "These problems would, in a way, be much less costly to manage in an urban, more compact setting than in a suburban, more sprawling space."
As a result, he said, "Most of those who are poor are less likely to receive the helping hand they need in the suburbs."
And yet a growing number of grass-roots altruists are extending a hand.
Laniesh Kipp lives in the City of Lancaster but attends Long Memorial Church in Neffsville, Manheim Township.
Kipp had begun passing out bread in her neighborhood a few years back, but the need became overwhelming; she moved the bread giveaway to the church, where ultimately it morphed into "Kitschy Kitchen," a pay-what-you-can meal program on Thursday nights.
"I let people know we were going to do something at the church, and a lot of them said, 'Oh, you guys go to church in Neffsville; everyone there has a lot of money,' " said Kipp. She admitted she didn't know how much response there'd be.
"I thought, well, there are some apartments around here, and some of them are low-income. Maybe some of those people would come out," she said. "But we were surprised at how many people did come out. And now when people say, 'Are there really that many needy in Manheim Township?' I say, 'You'd be surprised.' There are a lot more than people would like to know, or care to know."
Two other nearby churches are now offering meals, she said. But as is characteristic of poverty in the suburbs, the people who could use the meal often have a hard time getting there.
"People tell us all the time, the bus service doesn't run much out (in the suburbs)," Kipp said. "It's hard for people to get places. It's frustrating. There are so many new people on the outskirts who have no way to get into town, because everything (service for the poor) is in the city."
Transportation is a key barrier for the suburban poor.
One example can be seen daily in East Hempfield Township: Red Rose Transit Authority buses travel Marietta Avenue (Route 23) and Columbia Avenue (Route 462), but no RRTA buses traverse Good Drive, which connects the two corridors.
So riders who work along Good Drive get off the bus along the major corridors -- and walk.
RRTA officials say there's little chance of adding new bus lines because of fiscal constraints.
The challenge is greater for those who live or work farther away from a bus line.
But where public transportation is patchy, programs such as the Lancaster County Council of Churches' "Wheels to Work" can fill the gap.
"We became licensed as a car dealer," said the Rev. Scott Fischer, executive director for the Council of Churches. "We get cars donated, fix them up and sell them for a nominal amount. And that one little piece can be the difference between whether you stay employed and self-sufficient or whether you drop off the radar and can't make it."
"I'm seeing a lot of increased need in the New Holland area," said Amanda Buckel, WTW operations manager.
"It could be because the living's a little bit cheaper out there. But I had one client who was working 40 hours a week to support herself and her two young children. She was working in Lititz, so obviously, New Holland to Lititz, she needed a vehicle. She was working night shift, too, so there was absolutely no bus service at all."
Rapidly rising rents are another issue hammering the suburban poor; the National Low Income Housing Coalition's "Out of Reach" study, released last month, reported that the cost of renting a basic apartment here is slipping further from the grasp of the average renter.
According to the NLIHC report, the average renter here earns $12.09 an hour; but to comfortably afford a basic two-bedroom apartment here, the average renter needs to earn $16.94 an hour.
"Across the county, and particularly outside of the city, where you're going to have a larger selection of attractive rental sites, those rents in particular have really risen in the last few years," said Bob Thomas, president of Tabor Community Services.
Tracy Seiger is mentor coordinator and a steering committee member for Penn Manor Homes of Hope: "For someone experiencing homelessness, we try to keep them in their school, rehouse them in their district so the school remains a constant for the kids and there's a little less crisis in the midst of crisis ... (but) rents in Millersville have skyrocketed. Rents here are very high because of the university, and we're finding it more and more difficult to rehouse in Penn Manor."
Government funding is unlikely to increase anytime soon. The Lancaster County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities, which operates a rental assistance program for "Section 8" housing, "is authorized to issue 868 vouchers but is only awarded funding for 785 currently," said Executive Director Matthew T. Sternberg in an email. "We have a waiting list of 729 that dates back to July 2007," and the program is closed to new applicants.
Local churches and other groups have stepped into that void with their own rental assistance programs.
"We have a fund here that we use primarily for rental assistance," the Rev. Matthew Lenahan, of Zion Lutheran Church in Akron, said. "It can help people stay in rental housing, and maybe during that time, maybe (with) a month or two of rent assistance, they can work on other things" to bolster their financial footing.
Elizabeth Kneebone and Michael Berube, authors of the recent Brookings Institution study on suburban policy, praise the idea of "innovating locally."
Given that the war on poverty continues to be fought with yesterday's city-centric policies, local innovation may actually have a better chance of alleviating it.
And there are other benefits as well, said Fischer, of the Lancaster County Council of Churches:
"It's neighbors helping neighbors, people helping each other," he said.
"And that builds community."
"And now when people say, 'Are there really that many needy in Manheim Township?' I say, 'You'd be surprised.' There are a lot more than people would like to know, or care to know."
Laniesh Kipp
Meal organizer
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Poverty can sometimes be hard to spot in suburbs
BY GIL SMART, Staff Writer
[email protected]
The decades-long housing boom that's dotted the landscape with upscale new homes swelled the county's population from 319,693 in 1970 to an estimated 523,594 in 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
This rising tide never lifted all boats. Elderly residents live on fixed incomes in modest 1950s-era ranchers across the street from gleaming new developments. Subsidized housing exists within a stone's throw of McMansions.
The new suburban development and the wealth it represents have been ostentatious, hard to miss. Those who can't afford to keep up have been comparably invisible.
Beth Trachte is pantry coordinator for the Lititz Warwick Community Chest, which has seen the number of clients skyrocket in recent years. The group delivers food to the needy; it made 267 deliveries in 2005 -- and 574 last year.
"Lititz hides its poverty very well," she said. "When you go to Lititz, you see the nice cars [owned by] the people shopping at the little shops. They have no idea about the people tucked away in the small apartments above the stores, the people who can't afford to shop at the little shops."
As suburban poverty has increased, it might have gotten more visible in terms of longer lines at food banks or an increase in "For Rent" signs in neighborhoods of single-family homes. But much of it remains hidden.
It can even look like prosperity, said Dave Bleil, president of the Hempfield Area Food Pantry.
"We have people come in, we walk out to their car and they have a nice car," Bleil said. "But put yourself in their shoes. If you lost your job, what do you do -- take your car and sell it? No, you still need a car."
Bleil said one of the first things he had to learn when he began working with the food pantry "was not to be judgmental."
Several local school districts report that more and more families are "doubling up," two or more families living in a single home. "The number of families doubling up has doubled each of the last two years for us," said Brenda Becker, superintendent of the Hempfield School District.
The Cocalico School District is seeing the same dynamic, according to Superintendent Bruce Sensenig.
"Homes are now housing more relatives that experienced the loss of jobs or income elsewhere and moved in here," he said.
These families are officially deemed homeless; but it's a type of homelessness that defies the stereotype -- which makes it harder to discern.
"Homelessness doesn't necessarily mean you live on the street, said the Rev. Bruce Heydt, assistant pastor and outreach director at Grace Millersville United Methodist Church, which participates in the Homes of Hope transitional housing program run by Love INC (In the Name of Christ).
In Millersville, he said, homelessness defies the stereotypes; rather than the stereotypical single male on the sidewalk, it's families -- often headed by a single mother -- living with friends or relatives.
"We even had one family who lived in a camper in a campground," Heydt said.
"That's why people think [Millersville] doesn't have a homeless problem," he said. "It's hard to see."
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Getting meals, services to poor outside city a challenge
BY GIL SMART, Staff Writer
[email protected]
On its website, the Community Action Program of Lancaster County maintains a list of area food pantries. Of the 27 listed, 17 are in the City of Lancaster.
CAP also lists free community meals; 13 churches and community centers host meals. Eleven are in the city.
To be sure, the city has by far the highest poverty rate of any county municipality. But as need grows in the suburbs, so does the need to provide social services where the suburban poor live.
"The suburban safety net is patchier and less developed compared to the range of services often found in cities," reports the Brookings Institution, which released a major study in May of suburban poverty throughout the U.S. "Many communities lack key services altogether, and the services that are available face increasing strain from growing demand. More people are accessing the safety net for the first time even as funding streams for those services have remained flat (if not declined)."
But there are logistical and financial challenges to expanding services to the suburban poor. The City of Lancaster, for example, is served by an extensive Red Rose Transit Authority bus network; residents who can't afford a car can, theoretically, catch a bus to work.
Outside the city, bus routes are fewer and farther between. Dave Kilmer, executive director of the Red Rose Transit Authority, says it's likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
"The biggest issue is funding, as always," Kilmer said. "Under current levels, we are not in a position to add any service to the outlying areas."
The county's pattern of land development -- under which every municipality can "do their own thing and allow certain developments to occur or not occur, like low-income housing projects" -- also complicates matters. Some developments are built where there's no bus service, Kilmer said; "This includes senior [housing developments] that are built out in the rural areas and then can't understand why we can't add service to them."
And the state, he said, focuses on "performance"; service to outlying areas "tends to be less productive because the densities are not there."
Housing assistance to suburban and rural families in need is equally patchy. Most services to the homeless are centered in the City of Lancaster, though some groups are working to change that.
Love INC (In the Name of Christ), based in Lancaster, operates "Homes of Hope," 13 transitional homes in eight local communities -- Cocalico, Columbia, Elanco/New Holland, Elizabethtown, Ephrata, Conestoga Valley/Leola, Manheim Central and Penn Manor.
"There is definitely a need for more communities in the program," said Kim Wittel, director of Love INC. "Our hope would be that homes would be available in every school district." There are currently no homes in Solanco, Pequea Valley or Lampeter-Strasburg, she said.
Food might be easier to come by than emergency housing in rural and suburban Lancaster County -- depending on the community.
More than a dozen food banks or food pantries serve the hungry around the county (in addition to those in Lancaster city), although with a few exceptions, these pantries are located in the boroughs and some rural communities.
Despite these efforts, the need outstrips the resources.
Taken aback by growing food insecurity throughout the county, a group of local religious, social service and political leaders formed the Lancaster County Hunger Coalition, with the goal of first identifying where the needs are -- then addressing them.
"From the beginning, we've had a countywide approach to say, look, there are a lot of resources and access points for low-income people living in the city," said the Rev. Matthew Lenahan of Zion Lutheran Church in Akron, a member of the group.
"But outside the city -- first, we can't really quantify the need; we have no really good data except for the school district" numbers on free and reduced lunches or homeless students.
He said the coalition has been working with Franklin & Marshall College and Lancaster General Health to generate indicators of poverty around the county. The group also has been able to help county residents connect with social services that many didn't even know existed.
Of food relief efforts in the county, he said, "It's very uncoordinated in the county. Everyone's kind of doing their own thing in their own way. ... We'd really like to coordinate these efforts."
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Impoverished in city, suburbs share more than desperation in common
BY GIL SMART, Staff Writer
[email protected]
The poor, the Bible says, will always be with us.
But the rise of impoverishment in the suburbs is different, in a lot of ways, from the poverty long concentrated in urban areas.
Research from The Brookings Institution indicates that in the suburbs:
· 44 percent of the poor are white, compared to 24 percent of the urban poor.
· 36 percent of the poor are homeowners, compared to 20 percent of the urban poor.
· 26.5 percent are married with children, compared to 22.5 percent of the urban poor.
And while there's no one face of poverty in the suburbs, those who wage war on want speculate that the recent rise in suburban poverty might be more situational than generational.
Ruby K. Payne, author of "A Framework for Understanding Poverty," defines generational poverty as a cycle passed down through generations.
Situational poverty, by contrast, can often be traced to a specific incident in a person's life -- divorce or death of a spouse, loss of a job or income, disease or debt.
"The biggest culprit for people coming from outside the city is that they lost their jobs or they're underemployed, or there's been a loss of income in the family," said Bob Thomas, president of Tabor Community Services in Lancaster, which provides credit counseling and housing aid.
"Maybe one of two breadwinners got laid off or had their hours reduced, or someone lost a job and had to take a job with lower pay as an alternative."
Poor urban residents are likely to have less education than their suburban counterparts, according to Elizabeth Kneebone and Michael Berube, authors of the Brookings study.
Poor urban residents are less likely to have finished high school or completed some college education.
Still, they write, the urban and suburban poor share many demographic and economic traits: About 60 percent of poor residents in both the suburbs and urban areas are of working age; in both locales, nearly half of the poor live in deep poverty, with incomes of less than half the federal poverty line.
"Poor city and suburban residents were also equally likely to work full time or part time, and roughly two in three poor families in 2010 had at least one worker," Kneebone and Berube write in the study.
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Sharp increase here in number of people outside city getting free school lunches, food stamps Poverty moves to the 'burbs Invisible Safety net
BY GIL SMART, Staff Writer
[email protected]
Shortly before 9 a.m. on a sweltering Wednesday, yellow-shirted volunteers at the Hempfield Area Food Pantry scurry about, preparing for the deluge.
Tables are laden with cakes and breads, shelves stocked with canned foods, cereal and fresh vegetables. Huge bags of rice dominate a corner of one room in the bottom floor of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Landisville, where the food pantry distributes food Mondays and Wednesdays.
There's plenty of food to feed the suburban masses. But the masses are growing.
"We just had 21 new client families sign up last month," President Dave Bleil said. The pantry now serves well over 300 families, an all-time high. Some clients are elderly, some are immigrants who speak little English, and some are on disability.
Some, such as Kimberly Drace, seem like typical suburban moms.
"We've been coming here for about three years," said Drace, as she bounced 1-year-old daughter Brooklyn on her lap and 4-year-old son Dakota played at her feet. She and her husband have six kids to feed -- three of their own, three from his previous marriage.
Her husband works full time, "but we can't get food stamps; he makes too much money," Drace said. "I don't know what we'd do without this."
In the wake of the Great Recession, food pantries, clothing banks and similar operations have seen demand for aid soar. But here and around the country, demand has grown the most where it's expected least: the suburbs.
"There's always been poverty in the Hempfield area," food pantry Vice President Diane Gerlach said. "But nothing like it is now."
In a major study unveiled last month, the Brookings Institution reported that the number of poor people living in suburban areas increased 67 percent between 2000 and 2011 -- more than twice the growth rate in cities.
To be sure, both nationwide and in Lancaster County, poverty remains concentrated in urban areas. In the School District of Lancaster, for example, nearly 81 percent of students qualify for a free or reduced-price school lunch, up from 72 percent in 2005 and by far the highest number in the county.
But in the Manheim Township and Warwick school districts, the percentage of eligible pupils has more than doubled over the same period. In East Hempfield Township, the number of people receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits -- commonly called food stamps -- nearly tripled between 2008 and 2013.
The trend is worrying, experts say, because the infrastructure created to wage war on poverty remains concentrated in urban areas even as poverty has moved out to the suburbs. Despite longer lines at the Hempfield Area Food Pantry and similar operations, the suburban poor remain largely hidden and, as a result, underserved.
"What the suburbanization of poverty means is that [the poor] are now dispersed, less visible, less able to organize, and thus without much of a voice," said Dr. Antonio Callari, chairman of the economics department and director of the Local Economy Center at Franklin & Marshall College.
"Large numbers of the poor will remain poor. But they will suffer their poverty in anonymity."
Defining "the suburbs" in Lancaster County is tricky. Few might describe places such as West Lampeter or East Cocalico townships as "suburban" -- though both have seen a significant amount of suburban development.
And while Lancaster County remains largely rural, new suburban development also has turned portions of the county into "bedroom communities" for Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Baltimore.
But as a whole, Lancaster County is a poorer place than it was.
The 2000 census counted 35,547 people in Lancaster County living below the poverty line, 7.8 percent of the local population. By 2011, the Census Bureau's American Community Survey estimated that the number of local people living below the poverty line had risen to 49,400 -- 9.9 percent.
The ACS uses estimates, and the numbers aren't definitive. But other statistics show that need overall is up -- and increasing faster outside the county's urban cores.
Countywide, the number of residents enrolled in SNAP -- food stamps -- rose from 29,766 in April 2008 to 55,991 in April 2013, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.
In the City of Lancaster, the number of food stamp recipients rose from 15,211 in 2007 to 23,341 this year -- a 53 percent increase. But Mount Joy Township saw a 222 percent increase. East Hempfield Township saw a 152 percent increase; West Lampeter 150 percent; Manheim Township 135 percent.
Some rural municipalities fared even worse. Bart Township saw a tenfold increase -- from 12 people receiving benefits in 2007 to 120 this year. East Drumore Township saw the number of SNAP recipients rise from 40 to 172, a 330 percent rise; West Cocalico Township saw a 361 percent increase, from 71 to 327 over the same span.
Or consider the number of schoolchildren here eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches. In October 2005, 19,216 students at area districts qualified; by October 2012, that number had risen to 27,466.
As has long been the case, the School District of Lancaster had the most eligible pupils.
The 8,563 students eligible in 2005 (72.3 percent of the student body) had grown to 9,043 in 2012 (80.8 percent of the student body). That's an increase of 480 kids.
But in Manheim Township, the number of eligible students rose from 588 to 1,517 -- 929 kids. And eligible students as a percentage of the overall student body more than doubled, from 11.2 percent to 26.2 percent.
Conestoga Valley, Ephrata, Hempfield, Penn Manor and Solanco also saw greater increases in the number of eligible pupils than city schools did.
Suburban and rural districts also are seeing a surge in homeless students. In 2011, according to a story in the Sunday News, the School District of Lancaster had by far the most homeless students, with more than 1,000. But Hempfield outpaced all the other suburban and rural school districts with 297 -- a figure that continues to grow, according to district Superintendent Brenda Becker.
That number increased to 324 for the 2012-13 school year.
"Where you have communities that are more 'walkable,' where it's easier for people to depend on public transportation, that tends to attract more folks in a transient situation," Becker said. "Where you see more rental properties, if they are not on the high end, you will see more transience."
What's going on? The Great Recession is an obvious answer.
"We knew there was poverty in this community," said the Rev. Matthew Lenahan, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Akron, where the Peter's Porch program serves a free hot breakfast the third Saturday of every month and distributes food, clothing and household items.
"We were connected to Akron Elementary School, where one in three students get a reduced-price or free lunch; it wasn't like we woke up one day and it was here."
But when the recession hit, "It was unbelievable -- we went from 60 people coming [to Peter's Porch] to a couple hundred showing up, all within a few months. It just exploded."
Gene Freeman, superintendent of the Manheim Township School District, thinks the economy is to blame.
"More parents/guardians are without jobs or [are experiencing] decreased employment, which directly relates to the increased needs of our student body," Freeman said in an e-mail.
The authors of the Brookings study, Elizabeth Kneebone and Michael Berube, write that the recession hit some economic sectors, such as construction, particularly hard.
In the Cocalico School District, Superintendent Bruce Sensenig says the building industry's woes have been a factor in the increase in Cocalico students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.
"We do have a heavy concentration of builders, electricians, plumbers and trades," said Sensenig. "When that industry declined, we did have more unemployed."
Brookings also cites an increase in affordable housing in the suburbs, writing that by the end of 2010, "roughly half of residents in voucher households lived in suburbs."
Said F&M's Callari: "The assumption has been that if the poor are located in more affluent neighborhoods, they will be better served: More resources would be available to help them, and poorer kids would grow up with more role-model adults around them and have better chances of escaping poverty. But, of course, this is a huge assumption to make."
Whatever the reason, schools, social service agencies, faith-based groups and others who work to alleviate hunger and poverty are seeing a significant uptick in clients, many of whom are seeking help for the first time in their lives.
"A lot of people who come to us have never utilized any kind of public service before," said Lenahan, of Akron's Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church. "They're new to this kind of need, but they'll say, 'Here are our circumstances: job loss, unemployment, high medical bills and rising costs,' most of it resulting from un- and underemployment."
Bob Thomas is president of Tabor Community Services, which like many of the organizations that help the poor in Lancaster County is located in the city. Traditionally, Thomas said, a slight majority of the clients using Tabor's services -- credit counseling, mortgage and foreclosure counseling, housing for the homeless and rental counseling -- have been from the city. But in recent years, he said, the number of clients from outside the city has crept steadily upward.
"Our consumer-credit counselors say that compared to the lower-income people from the city, people from the county are more likely to be carrying debt -- and generally, they're more resistant to giving things up."
That, Thomas said, "suggests you're dealing with people who are accustomed to a higher standard of living, but who have then lost income. ... They can be reluctant to seek this kind of assistance, because it means admitting to themselves that they're really in trouble."
Joan Espenshade founded the "Power Packs" program in 2005, designed to provide food and nutritional information to families in one School District of Lancaster elementary school who were experiencing "food insecurity" on weekends, when school lunch programs are unavailable.
"We started in the School District of Lancaster because it was the most acute need," Espenshade said. But soon, she was getting requests from other school districts; now the projects serves 24 schools in five school districts, including Manheim Township, Warwick and Penn Manor.
"We've noticed a shift in our demographics," Espenshade said. "There are families who were previously two-income families and could easily stop at Ruby Tuesday's and pick up an easy dinner to go. Now they've been downsized and they're struggling with mortgage payments and maybe part-time work; and unfortunately, because they were so comfortably middle class, they have no skills to live in poverty."
But they learn, because they must.
At the Hempfield Area Food Bank, Stacey -- who asked that her last name not be used -- picked out supplies for herself and her 15-year-old son.
"This is actually my first time here," said Stacey, of East Petersburg, who had no idea the food pantry existed until last month.
She's on food stamps; she's been unable to find a job; the food pantry helps her and her son gets by. But she dreams of a day when things are different, when she doesn't need the help -- and can give back in response to what she's received.
"One day, I'd like to be on the other side of this," she said. "Not as the person getting food from the pantry --but as the one donating."
Tomorrow: With governments restricted by tight budgets, churches and nonprofits are stepping up to help the suburban poor.
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They have even less at their disposal
Suburban poor face different challenges than those in city; at times, their mountain is even higher
Reaching out 'Wheels to work' Poverty in the Suburbs - Part 2
BY GIL SMART, Staff Writer
[email protected]
To the extent that there is a "solution" to the problem of burgeoning poverty in the suburbs of Lancaster County -- and America -- it may lie with programs such as Homes of Hope.
A ministry of Love INC (In the Name of Christ), Homes of Hope began with a discussion by pastors in Manheim about how to respond to homelessness in that community. Two transitional homes were opened.
Then the idea spread.
There are now 12 transitional homes in eight local communities, with more in the discussion stage.
And none of the money comes from government, said Kim Wittel, Love INC executive director.
"All funding for Love INC, including for Homes of Hope, comes through donations -- from churches, individuals and businesses/community groups," she said in an email. "We have no government funding at all."
To be sure, local, state and federal government policy and funding must play a role in addressing poverty wherever it's located.
But in this era of austerity and budget cuts, communities may need to help themselves.
Almost to an unprecedented extent, it's happening here in Lancaster County as churches and other nonprofits respond to the growing need. But often there's little coordination, leading to duplication of efforts.
And meeting those needs can actually be more expensive in the suburbs, said Dr. Antonio Callari, a professor of economics and director of the Local Economy Center at Franklin & Marshall College.
"Poor people have a lot of difficulties to deal with, like transportation and health issues," Callari said. "These problems would, in a way, be much less costly to manage in an urban, more compact setting than in a suburban, more sprawling space."
As a result, he said, "Most of those who are poor are less likely to receive the helping hand they need in the suburbs."
And yet a growing number of grass-roots altruists are extending a hand.
Laniesh Kipp lives in the City of Lancaster but attends Long Memorial Church in Neffsville, Manheim Township.
Kipp had begun passing out bread in her neighborhood a few years back, but the need became overwhelming; she moved the bread giveaway to the church, where ultimately it morphed into "Kitschy Kitchen," a pay-what-you-can meal program on Thursday nights.
"I let people know we were going to do something at the church, and a lot of them said, 'Oh, you guys go to church in Neffsville; everyone there has a lot of money,' " said Kipp. She admitted she didn't know how much response there'd be.
"I thought, well, there are some apartments around here, and some of them are low-income. Maybe some of those people would come out," she said. "But we were surprised at how many people did come out. And now when people say, 'Are there really that many needy in Manheim Township?' I say, 'You'd be surprised.' There are a lot more than people would like to know, or care to know."
Two other nearby churches are now offering meals, she said. But as is characteristic of poverty in the suburbs, the people who could use the meal often have a hard time getting there.
"People tell us all the time, the bus service doesn't run much out (in the suburbs)," Kipp said. "It's hard for people to get places. It's frustrating. There are so many new people on the outskirts who have no way to get into town, because everything (service for the poor) is in the city."
Transportation is a key barrier for the suburban poor.
One example can be seen daily in East Hempfield Township: Red Rose Transit Authority buses travel Marietta Avenue (Route 23) and Columbia Avenue (Route 462), but no RRTA buses traverse Good Drive, which connects the two corridors.
So riders who work along Good Drive get off the bus along the major corridors -- and walk.
RRTA officials say there's little chance of adding new bus lines because of fiscal constraints.
The challenge is greater for those who live or work farther away from a bus line.
But where public transportation is patchy, programs such as the Lancaster County Council of Churches' "Wheels to Work" can fill the gap.
"We became licensed as a car dealer," said the Rev. Scott Fischer, executive director for the Council of Churches. "We get cars donated, fix them up and sell them for a nominal amount. And that one little piece can be the difference between whether you stay employed and self-sufficient or whether you drop off the radar and can't make it."
"I'm seeing a lot of increased need in the New Holland area," said Amanda Buckel, WTW operations manager.
"It could be because the living's a little bit cheaper out there. But I had one client who was working 40 hours a week to support herself and her two young children. She was working in Lititz, so obviously, New Holland to Lititz, she needed a vehicle. She was working night shift, too, so there was absolutely no bus service at all."
Rapidly rising rents are another issue hammering the suburban poor; the National Low Income Housing Coalition's "Out of Reach" study, released last month, reported that the cost of renting a basic apartment here is slipping further from the grasp of the average renter.
According to the NLIHC report, the average renter here earns $12.09 an hour; but to comfortably afford a basic two-bedroom apartment here, the average renter needs to earn $16.94 an hour.
"Across the county, and particularly outside of the city, where you're going to have a larger selection of attractive rental sites, those rents in particular have really risen in the last few years," said Bob Thomas, president of Tabor Community Services.
Tracy Seiger is mentor coordinator and a steering committee member for Penn Manor Homes of Hope: "For someone experiencing homelessness, we try to keep them in their school, rehouse them in their district so the school remains a constant for the kids and there's a little less crisis in the midst of crisis ... (but) rents in Millersville have skyrocketed. Rents here are very high because of the university, and we're finding it more and more difficult to rehouse in Penn Manor."
Government funding is unlikely to increase anytime soon. The Lancaster County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities, which operates a rental assistance program for "Section 8" housing, "is authorized to issue 868 vouchers but is only awarded funding for 785 currently," said Executive Director Matthew T. Sternberg in an email. "We have a waiting list of 729 that dates back to July 2007," and the program is closed to new applicants.
Local churches and other groups have stepped into that void with their own rental assistance programs.
"We have a fund here that we use primarily for rental assistance," the Rev. Matthew Lenahan, of Zion Lutheran Church in Akron, said. "It can help people stay in rental housing, and maybe during that time, maybe (with) a month or two of rent assistance, they can work on other things" to bolster their financial footing.
Elizabeth Kneebone and Michael Berube, authors of the recent Brookings Institution study on suburban policy, praise the idea of "innovating locally."
Given that the war on poverty continues to be fought with yesterday's city-centric policies, local innovation may actually have a better chance of alleviating it.
And there are other benefits as well, said Fischer, of the Lancaster County Council of Churches:
"It's neighbors helping neighbors, people helping each other," he said.
"And that builds community."
"And now when people say, 'Are there really that many needy in Manheim Township?' I say, 'You'd be surprised.' There are a lot more than people would like to know, or care to know."
Laniesh Kipp
Meal organizer
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Poverty can sometimes be hard to spot in suburbs
BY GIL SMART, Staff Writer
[email protected]
The decades-long housing boom that's dotted the landscape with upscale new homes swelled the county's population from 319,693 in 1970 to an estimated 523,594 in 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
This rising tide never lifted all boats. Elderly residents live on fixed incomes in modest 1950s-era ranchers across the street from gleaming new developments. Subsidized housing exists within a stone's throw of McMansions.
The new suburban development and the wealth it represents have been ostentatious, hard to miss. Those who can't afford to keep up have been comparably invisible.
Beth Trachte is pantry coordinator for the Lititz Warwick Community Chest, which has seen the number of clients skyrocket in recent years. The group delivers food to the needy; it made 267 deliveries in 2005 -- and 574 last year.
"Lititz hides its poverty very well," she said. "When you go to Lititz, you see the nice cars [owned by] the people shopping at the little shops. They have no idea about the people tucked away in the small apartments above the stores, the people who can't afford to shop at the little shops."
As suburban poverty has increased, it might have gotten more visible in terms of longer lines at food banks or an increase in "For Rent" signs in neighborhoods of single-family homes. But much of it remains hidden.
It can even look like prosperity, said Dave Bleil, president of the Hempfield Area Food Pantry.
"We have people come in, we walk out to their car and they have a nice car," Bleil said. "But put yourself in their shoes. If you lost your job, what do you do -- take your car and sell it? No, you still need a car."
Bleil said one of the first things he had to learn when he began working with the food pantry "was not to be judgmental."
Several local school districts report that more and more families are "doubling up," two or more families living in a single home. "The number of families doubling up has doubled each of the last two years for us," said Brenda Becker, superintendent of the Hempfield School District.
The Cocalico School District is seeing the same dynamic, according to Superintendent Bruce Sensenig.
"Homes are now housing more relatives that experienced the loss of jobs or income elsewhere and moved in here," he said.
These families are officially deemed homeless; but it's a type of homelessness that defies the stereotype -- which makes it harder to discern.
"Homelessness doesn't necessarily mean you live on the street, said the Rev. Bruce Heydt, assistant pastor and outreach director at Grace Millersville United Methodist Church, which participates in the Homes of Hope transitional housing program run by Love INC (In the Name of Christ).
In Millersville, he said, homelessness defies the stereotypes; rather than the stereotypical single male on the sidewalk, it's families -- often headed by a single mother -- living with friends or relatives.
"We even had one family who lived in a camper in a campground," Heydt said.
"That's why people think [Millersville] doesn't have a homeless problem," he said. "It's hard to see."
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Getting meals, services to poor outside city a challenge
BY GIL SMART, Staff Writer
[email protected]
On its website, the Community Action Program of Lancaster County maintains a list of area food pantries. Of the 27 listed, 17 are in the City of Lancaster.
CAP also lists free community meals; 13 churches and community centers host meals. Eleven are in the city.
To be sure, the city has by far the highest poverty rate of any county municipality. But as need grows in the suburbs, so does the need to provide social services where the suburban poor live.
"The suburban safety net is patchier and less developed compared to the range of services often found in cities," reports the Brookings Institution, which released a major study in May of suburban poverty throughout the U.S. "Many communities lack key services altogether, and the services that are available face increasing strain from growing demand. More people are accessing the safety net for the first time even as funding streams for those services have remained flat (if not declined)."
But there are logistical and financial challenges to expanding services to the suburban poor. The City of Lancaster, for example, is served by an extensive Red Rose Transit Authority bus network; residents who can't afford a car can, theoretically, catch a bus to work.
Outside the city, bus routes are fewer and farther between. Dave Kilmer, executive director of the Red Rose Transit Authority, says it's likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
"The biggest issue is funding, as always," Kilmer said. "Under current levels, we are not in a position to add any service to the outlying areas."
The county's pattern of land development -- under which every municipality can "do their own thing and allow certain developments to occur or not occur, like low-income housing projects" -- also complicates matters. Some developments are built where there's no bus service, Kilmer said; "This includes senior [housing developments] that are built out in the rural areas and then can't understand why we can't add service to them."
And the state, he said, focuses on "performance"; service to outlying areas "tends to be less productive because the densities are not there."
Housing assistance to suburban and rural families in need is equally patchy. Most services to the homeless are centered in the City of Lancaster, though some groups are working to change that.
Love INC (In the Name of Christ), based in Lancaster, operates "Homes of Hope," 13 transitional homes in eight local communities -- Cocalico, Columbia, Elanco/New Holland, Elizabethtown, Ephrata, Conestoga Valley/Leola, Manheim Central and Penn Manor.
"There is definitely a need for more communities in the program," said Kim Wittel, director of Love INC. "Our hope would be that homes would be available in every school district." There are currently no homes in Solanco, Pequea Valley or Lampeter-Strasburg, she said.
Food might be easier to come by than emergency housing in rural and suburban Lancaster County -- depending on the community.
More than a dozen food banks or food pantries serve the hungry around the county (in addition to those in Lancaster city), although with a few exceptions, these pantries are located in the boroughs and some rural communities.
Despite these efforts, the need outstrips the resources.
Taken aback by growing food insecurity throughout the county, a group of local religious, social service and political leaders formed the Lancaster County Hunger Coalition, with the goal of first identifying where the needs are -- then addressing them.
"From the beginning, we've had a countywide approach to say, look, there are a lot of resources and access points for low-income people living in the city," said the Rev. Matthew Lenahan of Zion Lutheran Church in Akron, a member of the group.
"But outside the city -- first, we can't really quantify the need; we have no really good data except for the school district" numbers on free and reduced lunches or homeless students.
He said the coalition has been working with Franklin & Marshall College and Lancaster General Health to generate indicators of poverty around the county. The group also has been able to help county residents connect with social services that many didn't even know existed.
Of food relief efforts in the county, he said, "It's very uncoordinated in the county. Everyone's kind of doing their own thing in their own way. ... We'd really like to coordinate these efforts."
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Impoverished in city, suburbs share more than desperation in common
BY GIL SMART, Staff Writer
[email protected]
The poor, the Bible says, will always be with us.
But the rise of impoverishment in the suburbs is different, in a lot of ways, from the poverty long concentrated in urban areas.
Research from The Brookings Institution indicates that in the suburbs:
· 44 percent of the poor are white, compared to 24 percent of the urban poor.
· 36 percent of the poor are homeowners, compared to 20 percent of the urban poor.
· 26.5 percent are married with children, compared to 22.5 percent of the urban poor.
And while there's no one face of poverty in the suburbs, those who wage war on want speculate that the recent rise in suburban poverty might be more situational than generational.
Ruby K. Payne, author of "A Framework for Understanding Poverty," defines generational poverty as a cycle passed down through generations.
Situational poverty, by contrast, can often be traced to a specific incident in a person's life -- divorce or death of a spouse, loss of a job or income, disease or debt.
"The biggest culprit for people coming from outside the city is that they lost their jobs or they're underemployed, or there's been a loss of income in the family," said Bob Thomas, president of Tabor Community Services in Lancaster, which provides credit counseling and housing aid.
"Maybe one of two breadwinners got laid off or had their hours reduced, or someone lost a job and had to take a job with lower pay as an alternative."
Poor urban residents are likely to have less education than their suburban counterparts, according to Elizabeth Kneebone and Michael Berube, authors of the Brookings study.
Poor urban residents are less likely to have finished high school or completed some college education.
Still, they write, the urban and suburban poor share many demographic and economic traits: About 60 percent of poor residents in both the suburbs and urban areas are of working age; in both locales, nearly half of the poor live in deep poverty, with incomes of less than half the federal poverty line.
"Poor city and suburban residents were also equally likely to work full time or part time, and roughly two in three poor families in 2010 had at least one worker," Kneebone and Berube write in the study.
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Intelligencer Journal / Lancaster New Era - 05/01/2013
Atglen to Celebrate Veterans on Saturday
BY DEBBIE WYGENT, Correspondent
Since the official Veterans Day isn't until November, Atglen Borough residents have decided to give veterans one more unofficial holiday -- in the spring. On Saturday, the borough will hold its second annual Veterans and Military Families Appreciation Day at Atglen Community Park on Ridge Avenue.
Combining efforts to plan the event are Nick Softchin of Nick's Chicks, Penningtonville Presbyterian Church, the Atglen Public Library and the Octorara Food Cupboard. Their goal is to recognize veterans and strengthen the community.
Veterans are invited to eat for free at a chicken barbecue prepared by Nick's Chicks in Atglen Community Park. Others may pay $3 for a chicken barbecue meal and sit down with veterans and military families, or enjoy take-out. The barbecue is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Meanwhile, the park pavilion will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a book and bake sale benefiting Atglen Public Library.
Borough residents also are preparing items for a borough-wide yard and garage sale. Anyone who gives a donation to the library will be able to have a yard sale listed on the official yard sale map. To participate, contact library director Bev Bullock at (610) 593-6848.
Volunteers also will set up a table in the park to benefit the Octorara Area Food Cupboard. Canned food donations are needed for the food cupboard, which serves Atglen and all Octorara School District residents in need. The facility is located at 714 W. Main St. in Parkesburg.
For more information about Veterans and Military Families Appreciation Day, call (610) 593-1105.
BY DEBBIE WYGENT, Correspondent
Since the official Veterans Day isn't until November, Atglen Borough residents have decided to give veterans one more unofficial holiday -- in the spring. On Saturday, the borough will hold its second annual Veterans and Military Families Appreciation Day at Atglen Community Park on Ridge Avenue.
Combining efforts to plan the event are Nick Softchin of Nick's Chicks, Penningtonville Presbyterian Church, the Atglen Public Library and the Octorara Food Cupboard. Their goal is to recognize veterans and strengthen the community.
Veterans are invited to eat for free at a chicken barbecue prepared by Nick's Chicks in Atglen Community Park. Others may pay $3 for a chicken barbecue meal and sit down with veterans and military families, or enjoy take-out. The barbecue is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Meanwhile, the park pavilion will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a book and bake sale benefiting Atglen Public Library.
Borough residents also are preparing items for a borough-wide yard and garage sale. Anyone who gives a donation to the library will be able to have a yard sale listed on the official yard sale map. To participate, contact library director Bev Bullock at (610) 593-6848.
Volunteers also will set up a table in the park to benefit the Octorara Area Food Cupboard. Canned food donations are needed for the food cupboard, which serves Atglen and all Octorara School District residents in need. The facility is located at 714 W. Main St. in Parkesburg.
For more information about Veterans and Military Families Appreciation Day, call (610) 593-1105.
Gap-Parkesburg-Oxford Community Courier - 02/06/2013
New Food Cupboard Will Serve Octorara Area
The grand opening of the Octorara Area Food Cupboard was held on Jan. 24. Taking part in the event were (from left) volunteer Judy Dougherty, Chester County Food Bank board member Mrs. J. Maxwell Moran, president of the board of directors Brandon Gamble, Jennifer McNeil and Robert McNeil, Food Bank board chair.
By Marcella Peyre-Ferry
Grand opening ceremonies were held recently to mark the official opening of the Octorara Area Food Cupboard. The new facility, located in the former District Court building at 714 W. Main St., Parkesburg, is open two days each week to provide food assistance to any family in the Octorara Area School District in need of help with food.
"This is one of the areas that is the most poverty-stricken in Chester County. This building also means the beginning of better health for children, families and seniors," said Robert McNeil, Chester County Food Cupboard board chairman. "Now that we have an accessible food cupboard, we know that we can be better able to feed the hungry and get them better food. This community is renowned for helping each other out, but they never had a place where they could do it. The fact that this is totally volunteer-run shows you that the community is behind it."
Before the creation of the Food Cupboard, residents in the Parkesburg area could receive food assistance from a mobile food pantry that came to the borough once a month. That effort, started in 2005, most recently was stopping monthly in the George Schneider Parish Center parking lot. In the last three years, over 50 volunteers helped an average of 250 families each month.
Because the mobile food pantry was only in town once a month for limited hours, anyone who could not make it to the pickup point at that time might have to go an additional month without food assistance. Families are still limited to only one pickup a month, but the creation of the permanent location solves the problem of missed pickups and reduces congestion.
The Food Cupboard building is part of a long, vacant strip of stores beside a former supermarket. The entire parcel was purchased last year by The Parkesburg Point, with the intention of remodeling the large building to be the new home of the youth center. The Point hopes to work with other organizations that serve the community, and therefore, they offered the former district court building to the Chester County Food Bank for the new Food Cupboard.
"That was one of our intentions, to address the needs of the community, and (a food cupboard) is one of the needs we've been seeing since we've been open," said Dwayne Walton, executive director of The Parkesburg Point. "This is something we always had a vision for. We want to make sure with the storefronts that who ever moves in will be addressing a need for the community, and this is one of the greatest needs. We're not sure what else will come in (the other buildings). We want to make sure that the space that is used will end up blessing everyone in the community."
The cooperative effort between The Point and the Food Bank will go even further. The Food Bank plans to plant vegetable gardens on the grassy area beside the building, with youths from The Point helping to grow fresh produce. "With The Point Youth Center being on this site, (and) with the gardens we're putting in, it's going to allow those (youths) to learn how to grow food that will come back to them, their families and the Food Cupboard," said Chester County Food Bank executive director Larry Welsch.
The Octorara Area Food Cupboard is open on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 to 4 p.m., as well as on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon and from 3 to 7 p.m. Services are available to residents of the Octorara Area School District with a photo identification and a piece of mail as proof of address. Income information is not required. For more information, readers may call 610-857-4000. More information is also available at www.chestercountyfoodbank.org.
By Marcella Peyre-Ferry
Grand opening ceremonies were held recently to mark the official opening of the Octorara Area Food Cupboard. The new facility, located in the former District Court building at 714 W. Main St., Parkesburg, is open two days each week to provide food assistance to any family in the Octorara Area School District in need of help with food.
"This is one of the areas that is the most poverty-stricken in Chester County. This building also means the beginning of better health for children, families and seniors," said Robert McNeil, Chester County Food Cupboard board chairman. "Now that we have an accessible food cupboard, we know that we can be better able to feed the hungry and get them better food. This community is renowned for helping each other out, but they never had a place where they could do it. The fact that this is totally volunteer-run shows you that the community is behind it."
Before the creation of the Food Cupboard, residents in the Parkesburg area could receive food assistance from a mobile food pantry that came to the borough once a month. That effort, started in 2005, most recently was stopping monthly in the George Schneider Parish Center parking lot. In the last three years, over 50 volunteers helped an average of 250 families each month.
Because the mobile food pantry was only in town once a month for limited hours, anyone who could not make it to the pickup point at that time might have to go an additional month without food assistance. Families are still limited to only one pickup a month, but the creation of the permanent location solves the problem of missed pickups and reduces congestion.
The Food Cupboard building is part of a long, vacant strip of stores beside a former supermarket. The entire parcel was purchased last year by The Parkesburg Point, with the intention of remodeling the large building to be the new home of the youth center. The Point hopes to work with other organizations that serve the community, and therefore, they offered the former district court building to the Chester County Food Bank for the new Food Cupboard.
"That was one of our intentions, to address the needs of the community, and (a food cupboard) is one of the needs we've been seeing since we've been open," said Dwayne Walton, executive director of The Parkesburg Point. "This is something we always had a vision for. We want to make sure with the storefronts that who ever moves in will be addressing a need for the community, and this is one of the greatest needs. We're not sure what else will come in (the other buildings). We want to make sure that the space that is used will end up blessing everyone in the community."
The cooperative effort between The Point and the Food Bank will go even further. The Food Bank plans to plant vegetable gardens on the grassy area beside the building, with youths from The Point helping to grow fresh produce. "With The Point Youth Center being on this site, (and) with the gardens we're putting in, it's going to allow those (youths) to learn how to grow food that will come back to them, their families and the Food Cupboard," said Chester County Food Bank executive director Larry Welsch.
The Octorara Area Food Cupboard is open on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 to 4 p.m., as well as on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon and from 3 to 7 p.m. Services are available to residents of the Octorara Area School District with a photo identification and a piece of mail as proof of address. Income information is not required. For more information, readers may call 610-857-4000. More information is also available at www.chestercountyfoodbank.org.
Intelligencer Journal / Lancaster New Era - 02/06/2013
Families in the Octorara Area School District who need a helping hand to get meals on the table now have a place to go for assistance.
The Octorara Area Food Cupboard held grand-opening ceremonies on Thursday celebrating the new facility at 714 W. Main St., Parkesburg.
In 2005, a mobile food pantry was created to serve Parkesburg and the surrounding areas. It pulled into the parking lot of what was then Charlie's Thriftway with approximately 2,000 pounds of food from the Chester County Cares warehouse and Greater Philadelphia Food Bank.
Two volunteers and two staff members from Chester County Cares distributed food to 65 people from the back of a truck once a month.
The mobile pantry site moved to Parksedge Senior Apartments from 2006 to 2008, and the number of clients and volunteers kept increasing.
In 2009, the Chester County Food Bank took over the operation, parking at the George Schneider Parish Center through November 2012. In the last three years, more than 50 volunteers helped an average of 250 families each month.
"There's a tremendous need," said Judy Dougherty, who worked with the mobile pantry and is now at the Food Cupboard. "We have one of the highest poverty areas in the western end of (Chester) County."
Last year, when the Parkesburg Point Youth Center purchased the shopping center that includes the former Thriftway building, it also acquired the row of shops beside it. Wanting to work with other organizations that serve the community, the youth center offered the former district court building to the Chester County Food Bank for the new Octorara Area Food Cupboard.
Having a permanent site is more convenient for food recipients, plus it will allow the food bank to offer more items, including fresh-grown produce.
"With the (Parkesburg) Point Youth Center being on this site, with the gardens we're putting in, it's going to allow those youth to learn how to grow food that will come back to them, their families and the Food Cupboard," said Larry Welsch, executive director of the Chester County Food Bank.
The Octorara Area Food Cupboard is open Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 to 4 p.m.; and on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon and from 3 to 7 p.m.
Patrons can come on any Tuesday or Wednesday during the month, but no more than once a month, Dougherty said.
Services are available to residents of the Octorara Area School District who have a photo identification and a piece of mail as proof of address.
Income information is not required. For more information call 610-857-4000.
The Octorara Area Food Cupboard held grand-opening ceremonies on Thursday celebrating the new facility at 714 W. Main St., Parkesburg.
In 2005, a mobile food pantry was created to serve Parkesburg and the surrounding areas. It pulled into the parking lot of what was then Charlie's Thriftway with approximately 2,000 pounds of food from the Chester County Cares warehouse and Greater Philadelphia Food Bank.
Two volunteers and two staff members from Chester County Cares distributed food to 65 people from the back of a truck once a month.
The mobile pantry site moved to Parksedge Senior Apartments from 2006 to 2008, and the number of clients and volunteers kept increasing.
In 2009, the Chester County Food Bank took over the operation, parking at the George Schneider Parish Center through November 2012. In the last three years, more than 50 volunteers helped an average of 250 families each month.
"There's a tremendous need," said Judy Dougherty, who worked with the mobile pantry and is now at the Food Cupboard. "We have one of the highest poverty areas in the western end of (Chester) County."
Last year, when the Parkesburg Point Youth Center purchased the shopping center that includes the former Thriftway building, it also acquired the row of shops beside it. Wanting to work with other organizations that serve the community, the youth center offered the former district court building to the Chester County Food Bank for the new Octorara Area Food Cupboard.
Having a permanent site is more convenient for food recipients, plus it will allow the food bank to offer more items, including fresh-grown produce.
"With the (Parkesburg) Point Youth Center being on this site, with the gardens we're putting in, it's going to allow those youth to learn how to grow food that will come back to them, their families and the Food Cupboard," said Larry Welsch, executive director of the Chester County Food Bank.
The Octorara Area Food Cupboard is open Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 to 4 p.m.; and on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon and from 3 to 7 p.m.
Patrons can come on any Tuesday or Wednesday during the month, but no more than once a month, Dougherty said.
Services are available to residents of the Octorara Area School District who have a photo identification and a piece of mail as proof of address.
Income information is not required. For more information call 610-857-4000.