Katrina Sundstrom, executive director and cofounder and Candace Young, board president with Parkland Cares Food Pantry sat down for an question and answer interview Nov. 13 at the food pantry, Orefield.

Q. Can you share a little of the history of Parkland Cares and what inspired its creation?

A. Sundstrom: Absolutely. We were inspired by Gary Smith, a school bus driver for my two kids, and at his funeral we learned how incredibly generous he was to his church, his community and his family. We left that service asking ourselves how we could make a difference the way he did.

Around that same time, we noticed something in our own children’s elementary school at Fogelsville: each year, the tags on the Giving Tree – which supports families in that school – kept increasing. That prompted us to look more closely at what was happening in the district. And that’s when we learned there was a real food insecurity issue in Parkland. People don’t associate Parkland – with the big houses and the great cars – with hunger. But hunger was here. It still is. And it will continue to be. Back in 2018-2019, 25% of Parkland families were food insecure. Today, it’s about one-third.

Q. What is your role at Parkland Cares, and what does a typical day look like?

A. Sundstrom: I’m executive director and cofounder. My days vary, but most involve working closely with our volunteers – more than 60 adults, plus student volunteers and community partners like North Whitehall Township. A lot of my time is spent managing food: what comes in, what we recover from grocery stores and warehouses and what we source ourselves. I also wear the “development hat,” building relationships with donors and businesses and promoting our food partner sponsorship program. Since we no longer receive the food volume we once did from Second Harvest – and since a major partner, UNFI, recently closed – development has become a major part of my job. Right now, I’m focused heavily on finding new donors to fill those gaps.

Q. Do families need to prove they live within the Parkland School District to receive help?

A. Sundstrom: Yes. We use software called PantrySoft, which families use to create an account and make reservations. We’re open three times a month with morning, evening and Saturday hours. Families must verify they live within the Parkland School District. It’s important to note we are not affiliated with the district – just heavily partnered with them.

A. Young: We moved to this system in 2022. During the pandemic, we served anyone, but the drive-through model eventually grew beyond our capacity. Even now, serving only Parkland families, our numbers are higher than ever. Just since October, households served have increased 20%.

Q. How has the need for food assistance in Parkland changed in recent years?

A. Young: When we opened in 2019, we were serving about 40-50 families a month upstairs in a much smaller space. But the pandemic hit just months later. We shifted to a drive-through model at Kernsville Elementary School in March 2020, then moved to Springhouse Middle School and were finally able to reopen this renovated space in March.

Since 2019 the need has steadily grown, but this year has been the sharpest increase – 10-20% every month. There’s been a lot of attention recently due to the government shutdown and SNAP delays, but honestly, this crisis started earlier. At the beginning of the year, the Emergency Food Assistance Program was cut by $500 million. That resulted in food banks – including Second Harvest – having empty shelves.

Luckily, we saw this coming. Katrina had already started building relationships with wholesalers, grocery stores and local donors. But smaller rural pantries, which rely entirely on Second Harvest, have nothing left to distribute. This is a perfect storm with more families in need, reduced SNAP benefits, federal food assistance cuts, higher food prices and now delays caused by the government shutdown. This isn’t a new problem; it’s just finally being noticed.

Q. What programs or partnerships are you most proud of?

A. Sundstrom: Besides the pantry itself, our Snack Pack Program is something we’re incredibly proud of. It operates upstairs and provides weekend food for students on free and reduced lunch. Each pack includes nine to 10 items – soup or a Chef Boyardee meal, popcorn, granola bars, oatmeal, mac and cheese, tuna and a fruit cup. For some kids, it may be the only food they have all weekend.

A. Young: In October alone, we packed about 350 packs – twice a month, so about 700 total. And as more families learn about the program, we know it will grow. I also want to mention our long-term partnership through the Community Development Block Grant, now in its fifth year. That multiyear support has kept us stable. My role as board president includes helping write grants, working on evaluation and supporting Katrina however possible.

A. Sundstrom: Unfortunately, our CDBG grant was just cut from $25,000 to $12,000 for this coming year – another gap we now need to fill.

Q. How can community members get involved? What volunteer opportunities are available?

A. Sundstrom: Visit parklandcaresfp.org and click “Give Help.” There you can: make a financial donation, sign up to volunteer, find the dates when we accept donated food and learn about our Food Partner Sponsorship Program. Right now, proteins like meat are extremely difficult for us to acquire without donor support. It’s also incredibly helpful when community members hold food drives based on our “most needed items” list.

A. Young: And you can always mail a check. Opening the mailbox sometimes feels like Christmas – people learn about us and send what they can and it truly makes a difference. I also want to emphasize: this pantry runs on essentially one and a half paid staff members. Everything else – thousands of hours – is volunteers. I’ve worked in nonprofits for more than a decade and have never seen volunteer commitment like this.

Q. Is there a story or moment that really illustrates the impact of Parkland Cares?

A. Sundstrom: There are so many. One family we’re working with now has a son undergoing major medical treatment an hour away. Because of partnerships like the Krysta Hankee Memorial Fund, we were able to provide gas cards so they could travel for care. Today, the father arrived with tears in his eyes – he told us they had only rice and beans at home before receiving today’s groceries.

Another story I tell often is about a little boy we’ll call Jonathan. He came in with his mom, who was nervous and had never visited a pantry before. By the time they were shopping, both were smiling. Jonathan rounded the corner, saw our Halloween goody bags and asked excitedly if he could take one home – and if he could take bags for his brother and sister. Of course, we said yes. He shouted, “This is the best place ever!” Before leaving, he brought his cart back inside and hugged every volunteer, thanking them for helping his mom.

A. Young: More than 40% of the households we serve have children and another 20% are older adults. Food insecurity is everywhere – one in eight Americans is on SNAP. Any one of us is just a few crises away from needing a pantry. This is a moment for communities to come together locally, especially as federal programs are cut.

Q. Are there any upcoming drives or new initiatives readers should know about?

A. Sundstrom: The biggest initiative is our Food Partner Sponsorship Program:

• $5,000 – Protein Partner (meat and proteins)

• $2,500 – Dairy Partner (milk and eggs)

• $1,000 – Produce Partner (fruits and vegetables)

• $500 – Grain Partner

In addition, monthly donors of any amount make a huge impact. Even five boxes of mac and cheese – which people sometimes apologize for – is five meals for five different households.

Q. How can local news coverage help?

A. Young: Visibility. Directing people to our website. Helping people understand the need. Awareness leads to action.

Q. What’s your vision for Parkland Cares five years from now?

A. Sundstrom: Food insecurity is usually a symptom of larger challenges. We want to begin offering – or partnering to provide – services like financial literacy workshops, mental health resources, social opportunities for our “seasoned” (senior) families, tutoring for kids, with help from Parkland teachers who already volunteer and gardening and healthy cooking demonstrations.

In the spring, we’ll be planting a garden here on site so families can learn to grow and harvest their own food. We want to be more than a food source – we want to be a community resource.

A. Young: We also want to connect families with job opportunities and become part of a broader regional network of organizations addressing hunger. And I’ll add one more vision: We are actively seeking a white cargo van – a Parkland Cares van – for food recovery and distribution. We even wrote a state grant for it. That’s a huge need for us moving forward.

A. Sundstrom: And we want people to understand hunger doesn’t take a break. Support is high around the holidays, but the need continues year-round. We opened in June 2019 and we will keep fighting hunger long after this moment passes. But we can’t do it without community support. We are located in Orefield, Our phone number is 484-656-5277. Email inquiries or questions to inquiry@parklandcaresfp.com or visit Parklandcaresfp.org.