NEPA Youth Shelter calling on community to assist with after school meals

SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) — The NEPA Youth Shelter is calling on local restaurants and organizations in Scranton to help sponsor their daily cooked suppers for students when they return to the classroom this fall.

As the school year approaches for Scranton students, John Rosengrant and the NEPA Youth Shelter are working to ensure that students at its teen center will be fed once classes are back in session.

But with a limited budget and heavily relying on grants and donations, the Shelter took to Facebook calling on its local community and businesses to lend a helping hand.

“We’re putting a call out to area restaurants and organizations who might be interested or wanting to help support the cooked meals that we do every night at 5:00,” Rosengrant, Executive Director of the NEPA Youth Shelter, said.

Now this isn’t just another meal for the students at the NEPA Youth Shelter. For some, it might be the last meal they have until the next day, and many hungry teens depend on the hot cooked meals from the shelter after school.

“We need to keep that going; I mean, it’s up to us to make sure there’s a hot meal for them every day,” Rosengrant said.

Plus, it’s not just cooked meals that the Shelter provides teens and young adults; they also provide donated clothes, snacks, school supplies, and more.

Rosengrant says that he hopes the community will continue to rally around them and contribute as they have done for the Youth Shelter time and time again.

“If we don’t get grants, if we don’t get donations, we don’t exist,” Rosengrant said, “This is why we’re putting that call out because the community has always delivered for us and always stepped up.”

If you or someone you know is interested in helping Rosengrant and the NEPA Youth Shelter this school year, you can head to their website by clicking here or reach out to the shelter via phone (570) 904-7449) or email (nepayouthshelter@gmail.com).