A volunteer stocks shelves at the Ebenezer New Reformed Church food pantry, which serves more than 270 local families on a regular basis (FILE PHOTO). The Lower Saucon food bank is open Tuesdays and for emergency cases.
A Lower Saucon Township food bank is asking for financial support from the community it has served for many years.
Volunteers from the food bank at Ebenezer New Reformed Church in Bingen have established a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising $15,000.
According to the author of the page–volunteer Sam Hess–the money is needed because of a change in how Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley distributes food to food banks such as the one at Ebenezer church.
“Our food pantry receives about 99 percent of our food from Second Harvest Food Bank of Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania,” Hess said. “Previously the cost of the food to the receiving organization such as ours has been paid for by grants. These grants still exist, (but) unfortunately due to the rising costs of operation, Second Harvest has been forced to impose fees on the food coming to us and all other organizations. This is not uncommon in other areas. Unfortunately it is new to us and we do not have the funding to continue operating.”
Hess said the food bank will need to raise about $14,000 a year to continue normal operations.
“This amount will insure our continued support of the hungry in our community,” he said.
Ebenezer Food Pantry is a Second Harvest Emergency food pantry and serves residents of Hellertown, Lower Saucon and the Bethlehem area.
It is a nonprofit, all volunteer-operated organization open to anyone in need in the local communities every Tuesday. The food bank is also open for emergency cases 24/7, and feeds an average of 270 families each year.
The church and food bank are located at 3221 Bingen Road, Bethlehem, Pa.
