CENTER HALL — The Center Hall/Potter Township Food Pantry celebrated the retirement of two longtime members and two chartered members on Tuesday, June 18th.
Located at Grace United Methodist Church, 127 S. Pennsylvania Drive in Center Hall, the food pantry has been run entirely by a volunteer team since the early 1980s. It was founded by pastors from four local churches to meet a need in the community. The Center Hall/Potter Township Food Pantry aims to provide food assistance, refer individuals and families to local resources, and recruit other local organizations and individuals to help members of the Center Hall and Potter Township communities.
Members Bonnie Brown, Jean Demin, Virginia Struble and LeRoy Reitz were honored at the banquet.
Brown has worked at the Center Hall/Potter Township Food Pantry for nearly 20 years, overseeing day-to-day operations as food procurement coordinator since 2004. Brown played a major role in the growth of the program and is now retired.
Under Brown’s direction, the food pantry has grown from providing 30-60 food items per household per month to providing as many as eight boxes of food for large families. Additionally, Brown’s own home has served as a drop-off point for collections for the local Boy Scouts food drive since 2005. During the pandemic, Brown has been able to work with the board to find solutions to keep the food pantry operating.
“She walked countless miles to pick up food orders from various grocery stores and others and deliver them here to the food pantry each month. She regularly looked for new fundraising possibilities and ways to put those funds to better use for food pantry clients,” said Beth Powell, assistant secretary for the Center Hall/Potter Township Food Pantry. “The Food Pantry Board and volunteers would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation for all she did for the community through the Food Pantry as she retires from this position after 20 years of dedicated service.”
Demin, who will retire at the end of the fiscal year in August, has served as the food pantry’s treasurer since 2001. Demin’s bookkeeping skills have been vital in keeping the food pantry’s finances in order, and the food pantry has benefited from her tireless dedication over the last 23 years.
“Her meticulous bookkeeping has allowed the food pantry to continue operating with confidence in its funds,” Powell said. “The board of directors and food pantry volunteers are deeply grateful and thankful for Jean’s 23 years of faithful service.”
Additionally, the Center Hall/Potter Township Food Pantry recognized two founding members who have been involved with the organization for decades during a banquet on Tuesday, June 18. Struble and Reitz have been integral to the food pantry’s work since its inception and have overseen its growth over the past four decades.
The Center Hall/Potter Township Food Pantry is a community-run organization. It is run by Grace United Methodist Church, but anyone interested in volunteering is welcome to join. The organization holds monthly food distributions on the third Tuesday of every month, except in August, when it will be held on the second Tuesday.
Orders are put together by volunteers in the morning, and distribution time is from 1:30 to 3 p.m., when boxes are carried downstairs to customers’ cars.
Residents of Center Hall or Potter Township who think they may be eligible for distribution and are interested in volunteering at the food pantry are asked to contact the organization by email at [email protected].
