KINGSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A local food pantry in Luzerne County has been forced to cut back on its weekly donations to families due to a lack of supplies.
It’s a dreaded sight at a local food pantry, empty shelves, and empty coolers.
“The cupboards bare, you know, nowadays it’s tough,” said Mark Finkelstein, volunteer, Sara’s Table Food Pantry.
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Sara’s Table Food Pantry at the Jewish Community Center in Kingston has been struggling to provide to the hundreds of families in need of its services, even having to use a sign when they ran out of food two weeks ago.
“Everyone’s in hard times. The choice is, should I buy my medication or should I buy food?,” said Barb Sugarman, pantry director, Sara’s Table Food Pantry.
Pantry workers say they get food from the regional food bank, but it hasn’t been enough to keep up with the demand.
“We feed 252 families. It used to be a week, now it’s every other week,” said Sugarman.
That’s why they’re asking for the public’s help for any kind of donation.
“We always need breakfast items, we always need peanut butter, we always need tuna fish, macaroni and cheese, toilet paper. Just think what you use every day in your house,” said Sugarman.
Now, the pantry is only operating its food drive every other Friday, with families receiving one bag instead of two.
“I’ll tell them, I’ll say, ‘you know the bags are a little bit leaner and what have you,’ and (they say), ‘that’s ok. You know, we appreciate anything we can get,’” said Finkelstein.
But that hasn’t stopped volunteers hard at work, offering everything they have ahead of their next drive.
“It’s really sad, especially when there are kids involved, that the kids don’t have enough food to eat or the kids are hungry or their belly hurts or they’re not feeling well because they don’t have food. This is just a great opportunity to help those families out,” said Dan Shission, volunteer, Sara’s Table Food Pantry.
“It’s been less, but even less is better than none,” continued Finkelstein. “They need the food and we feel for them.”
The upcoming food drive is Friday, October 25th. If you’d like to donate to Sara’s Table Food Pantry you can drop off supplies at the Jewish Community Center in Kingston located at 613 S J Strauss Lane, Kingston, Pa 18704.
Abide Coffeehouse in Wilkes-Barre is also collecting donations.
