Since shutdown, Holy Redeemer Food Pantries has stepped up its efforts to distribute food to families across the Greater Philadelphia area. Thanks to a hefty donation, it now has 40,000 more pounds of food and toiletries to distribute.
The generous donation came from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which shipped a truck full of food to the pantry at 12265 Townsend Road. The non-perishable food will impact hundreds of families in the region as the holiday season approaches.
“People are hungry and we focus on ministering people who are in need,” said President Russell Dalby.
When he heard the church was looking for local institutions to partner with, Dr. Michael Kimball, a physician at Holy Redeemer Hospital, made the connection between them and Holy Redeemer. The two organizations have worked together on smaller donations in the past, so a donation of this size seemed like a natural fit.
“The food drives that we’ve done before for Holy Redeemer were hundreds of pounds, and this is 40,000 pounds,” said James Packer, senior director at Holy Redeemer Health System.
“This turned into something that was more than we imagined in the beginning and it’s going to help a lot of families,” he said.
About 600 families in the Greater Philadelphia region receive support from Holy Redeemer Food Pantries per month. The food from the donation could help to feed an estimated 600 more.
Most of the food was grown and manufactured through the church’s farms.
The donation was dropped off at Caring For Friends’ neighboring food storage site at 12271 Townsend Road. The food will be stored in its 30,000-square-foot facility.
This could be the first of what becomes an annual donation. ••
