SCRANTON — The annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Giveaway on Monday distributed enough food for 4,000 family Christmas dinners, and then some.
A program of the Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center recently merged nonprofit agency, the event held at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple once again had hundreds of volunteers participating.
“It really brings the whole community together,” both as recipients and volunteers, said Family-to-Family Director Linda Robeson.
Each recipient got a grocery bag full of food, enough for about two full-sized family dinners and leftovers, said Meghan Loftus, president and CEO of Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center.
“These events particularly, we couldn’t do without the community — all of the donations, all of the volunteer hours, all of the people coming together,” Loftus said. “The reason it’s named Family-to-Family is because it’s about one family giving for another family,” and multiplied.
The need for the food giveaway, and similar annual ones for the Thanksgiving and Easter holidays, never seems to decrease, and this year was no exception, they said. The number of food baskets was capped at 4,000 based on available funding, Robeson said.
“Financially, it’s just been a tough year for donations,” Robeson said.
As a drive-through or walk-up distribution, the Christmas food giveaway held Monday also closed down parts of North Washington Avenue and other nearby streets to make for streamlined, safe routes of traffic.
Teams of volunteers gathered inside the cultural center’s ballroom and hallway to bag up food items, including potatoes, apples, loaves of bread, cans of green beans and hams, for distribution to recipients.
Some volunteers carried the grocery bags and hams outside and placed them on tables set up in the street and on a sidewalk. Others manned stations at those tables to give out the bags of food to recipients who drove through or walked up to the distribution event.
Some of the volunteer groups included participants from Bank of America, Scranton School District, Mountain Edge Recovery and a Confirmation group of youths from Prince of Peace Parish of Old Forge, according to Ann Williams, volunteers and outreach manager of Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center.
To a casual observer, the whole operation buzzing with activity inside and outside of the cultural center might appear a bit chaotic, but it’s actually very organized, said Loftus, who began in her role leading Friends of the Poor in 2017.
“Since 2017, I’ve been saying that ‘organized chaos’ is the Friends of the Poor way,” Loftus joked.
The two faith-based nonprofit organizations that provided housing, shelter, food, clothing and other assistance to needy residents, the Catherine McAuley Center and Friends of the Poor — founded in 1984 and 1986, respectively — completed a merger on Aug. 1.
Volunteers work at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple on Monday, Dec. 22, 2026, for the annual Friends of the Poor Family to Family Food Giveaway. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Volunteers assemble bags of food direct in the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple on Monday, Dec. 22, 2026, for the annual Friends of the Poor Family to Family Food Giveaway. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Volunteers assemble bags of food direct in the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple on Monday, Dec. 22, 2026, for the annual Friends of the Poor Family to Family Food Giveaway. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Volunteers direct traffic in front of the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple on Monday, Dec. 22, 2026, for the annual Friends of the Poor Family to Family Food Giveaway. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
The annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Giveaway distribution, a program of the Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton, gave out 4,000 baskets, each with enough food for at least two family dinners. Photo shows volunteers at work inside the culutrual center. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Giveaway distribution, a program of the Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton, gave out 4,000 baskets, each with enough food for at least two family dinners. Photo shows bagged foods on table set up on a sidewalk for the event that had drive-through or walk-up availability. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Giveaway distribution, a program of the Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton, gave out 4,000 baskets, each with enough food for at least two family dinners. Photo shows bags of potatoes and boxes of apples inside the cultural center. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Giveaway distribution, a program of the Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton, gave out 4,000 baskets, each with enough food for at least two family dinners. Photo shows bagged foods on table set up on North Washington Avenue for the event that had drive-through or walk-up availability. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Linda Robeson, a volunteer and diretor of the Family-to-Family Christmas Food Giveaway distribution, a program of the Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center recently combined nonprofit agency, poses for a photo at the annual event held Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton. The program gave out 4,000 baskets, each with enough food for at least two family dinners. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Ethan Salerno, at left, and Alex Schlegel, both 14, carry hams while volunteering with a Confirmation group from the Prince of Peace Parish in Old Forge, at the annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Giveaway distribution, a program of the Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton. The program gave out 4,000 baskets, each with enough food for at least two family dinners. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Giveaway distribution, a program of the Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton, gave out 4,000 baskets, each with enough food for at least two family dinners. Photo shows bagged foods on table set up on North Washington Avenue for the event that had drive-through or walk-up availability. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Giveaway distribution, a program of the Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton, gave out 4,000 baskets, each with enough food for at least two family dinners. Photo shows bags of potatoes inside the cultural center. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Giveaway distribution, a program of the Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton, gave out 4,000 baskets, each with enough food for at least two family dinners. Photo shows bagged foods on table set up on North Washington Avenue for the event that had drive-through or walk-up availability. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Ann Williams of the Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center, poses by a Christmas tree while dressed festively for the annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Giveaway distribution, a program of the Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton. The program gave out 4,000 baskets, each with enough food for at least two family dinners. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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Volunteers work at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple on Monday, Dec. 22, 2026, for the annual Friends of the Poor Family to Family Food Giveaway. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)