Lafarge North America, Cementon, donated food baskets last week for families in need in the Whitehall-Coplay School District.

According to Lorraine Faccenda, plant manager, this is the third year the plant has made such a donation to the district.

“The first year, we brought [the food baskets] to the district,” Faccenda said. “It’s grown every year. The first year, we had nine; last year, we had 17; and this year, 20.”

Faccenda said she is part of the Career Advisory Council and discovered the need during those group discussions.

The baskets contain nonperishable items and gift cards to local grocers for the families to buy perishables. All items were donated by employees of the plant.

“Employees are very generous,” Faccenda said. “We have a strong belief that as a business and company, we have a duty to be part of the community. This gives employees great pride,” she said.

Besides donating the baskets, Faccenda said the plant had maintained a garden for some time to donate food for the local food bank, and employees get 16 hours of paid time off to volunteer in the community.

Leah Unger, secretary to the assistant superintendent at WCSD, said Whitehall-Coplay Middle School teacher Leah Saliby compiles a list of families in need and plays a vital role in the Snack Pack Pals program at the district.

“We’re working in conjunction with state programs and teaching families about homegrown food and how to prepare it,” Unger said.