Expand<\/a><\/p>\nThe 40,000 pounds of perishable and nonperishable items are enough to feed 1,400 people for a week. The nationwide effort will provide an estimated 10 million meals.<\/p>\n
Meghan Loftus, CEO of Friends of the Poor and Catherine McCauley Center, said the food would be delivered to 15 sites in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, all of which have seen an increased need over the last months.<\/p>\n
\u201cDonations are down and more people are in need,\u201d she said. \u201cThis means the world to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organization serves 25,000 people a year who use their services multiple times.<\/p>\n
Loftus used to see people using food pantries as a last resort at the end of the month. Now, they often thoughtfully consider food they can get from pantries, before using food stamps or cash for other items.<\/p>\n
And, although fresh perishable items are appreciated, recipients often appreciate nonperishable items, which they can easily heat up or even eat from the container. This is especially a concern for people who are unhoused and may not have access to a traditional kitchen, Loftus said.<\/p>\n
In addition to providing physical nourishment, food pantries and other human service agencies provide opportunities for recipients to experience a sense of community.<\/p>\n
Many volunteer with the organizations that are helping them, Loftus said.<\/p>\n
She is moved by people\u2019s willingness not only to give money, but to spend their time \u2014 sometimes hours of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn today\u2019s world, time is precious. So, when I see people willing to give it, it means something,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Deb Morisie, the NEPA communications director of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the Friends of the Poor\/Catherine McCauley House mission to serve those in need dovetailed perfectly with her church\u2019s mission to help others.<\/p>\n
She called both the provision of food and the willingness of those geared at getting it out into the community where it is needed \u201cawe-inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard Fowler of the church emphasized the spiritual aspect of the effort. Members take a Sunday each month and abstain from food and drink for two meals, then donate the equivalent cost or more to assist the needy. It\u2019s called a fast offering.<\/p>\n
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sees service as an expression of faith, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A tractor-trailer arrived Thursday in the parking lot of Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":210882,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,803,139,28,178,180,179,6519],"class_list":["post-211105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-luzerne-county","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-top-stories-hzs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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