Most guests of our Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative Food Pantry come every month, but some miss their appointments due to lack of transportation, sickness, being called into work or working overtime and doctor appointments. We also register brand-new guests. I wanted to share our attendance numbers for January through April 2025.

WCHI provided food and toiletries to 1,293 households consisting of 1,756 children, 2,316 adults ages 18-59 and 968 seniors. Total people served in this four-month period was 5,040. We provide enough food for each person in the household to have three meals a day for five days, which equals a minimum of 75,600 food items.

WCHI could never feed this many people without food from Second Harvest Food Bank. WCHI ordered, picked up and unloaded 82,799 pounds of food valued at $104,405. This is only for a four-month period!

WCHI wrote and obtained these grants: $3,000 Catholic Diocese of Allentown Poverty Relief Grant approved in 2025 and will be closed in 2025; $7,500 Trexler Trust Grant approved by the trustees in 2024 and closed in 2025; and a $65,000 Community Development Block Grant approved by the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners in 2024 and will be closed in 2025.

This year through April 30, WCHI received $7,598 in monetary donations. We received and weighed 7,688 pounds of food, pet food and toiletries. These donations come from many generous residents, schools and organizations.

WCHI spent $22,583 on food and toiletries from Jan. 1 to April 30. This includes $1,331 paid to Second Harvest for food. Food purchases are everything else we need that are not ordered through Second Harvest or donated by the public. The toiletries we buy are limited to toilet paper, tissues, small and large feminine pads and baby and adult diapers.

All our donations are date and package checked, weighed and recorded. Below are the assorted poundage amounts donated.

These donors are in alphabetical order: Angel Resources, 97; First Presbyterian Church of Hokendauqua, 456; Good Shepherd Catholic School, 358; Greg and Doug Fettig, 281; Knights of Columbus, 237; public donations dropped off in the RE/MAX Unlimited foyer, 930; Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 525; six separate adult diapers/pull-up baby diaper donors, 190; six separate food donors, 105; St. Elizabeth Regional School, 214; St. John the Baptist Church, 147; St. Peter Roman Catholic Church, 324; Steckel Elementary School, 1,853; Taylor Villas subdivision, 380; WCHI bingo, 375; WCHI known meat distributor, 1,067; and Zephyr Elementary School, 149.

Needed pantry food items include cereal and other breakfast foods, chicken noodle soup, macaroni and cheese, canned fruit in light or no syrup and canned kidney beans.

Donated items are greatly appreciated. Place them on the right side of the entry foyer at the RE/MAX Unlimited office, 1080 Schadt Ave., Whitehall, 18052. Monetary donations also are needed and are payable to WCHI.

WCHI and our guests thank you all, including our great volunteers!