PITTSTON TWP. — A tractor-trailer pulled into the Weinberg Food Bank on Wednesday carrying 27,000 pounds of food that will significantly address the food insecurity problem in the four-county area served by the food bank.
The generous donation of Best Yet products — ShurSave’s store brand private label — will certainly help, but the demand for Weinberg’s services is vast and only expected to grow.
The donation made to the Commission On Economic Opportunity’s (CEO) Weinberg Food Bank, valued at $40,000, was made possible through a partnership with ShurSave Supermarkets.
Emilio Aritz, Senior Director Merchandising/Ad Groups for C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc., Wilkes-Barre, was on-hand to formally present the donation to the Weinberg Food Bank.
Locally owned ShurSave Supermarkets and WBRE/WYOU Eyewitness News recently announced their partnership in an effort to “Drive Away Hunger” in local communities.
“The Drive Away Hunger program with ShurSave, CEO and WBRE is a significant effort to address the problem of food insecurity in our neighborhoods,” Aritz said. “ShurSave is in those neighborhoods and their supermarkets are doing their part to help.”
Gary Schiel of Schiel’s Supermarkets — a member of ShurSave — said it’s important to give back to the community.
“CEO does a great job helping people in need,” Schiel said. “The need is growing and we want to do all we can to help.”
Jennifer Warabak, CEO Executive Director, said the food donation will aid in alleviating food insecurity for those in the local community who struggle to make ends meet.
Warabak said the truckload of food will be re-distributed to the Food Bank’s network of more than 250 partner organizations that fight hunger by offering free groceries and meals to the community.
“Right now, the Food Bank is working to meet the increasing needs of our community,” Warabak said. “The cost of food continues to rise and government and private sector funding and support that was so generous during COVID has slowed.”
Warabak said many of Food Banks’s partner agencies are helping just as many families as they did in 2020 when COVID was at its worst.
“This donation is going directly from the ShurSave truck, out into our community to feed hungry families,” said Mary Ellen Spellman, Food Bank Director. “Last month, our network provided food to more than 30,000 families. This food will be put to good use.”
Warabak said through the commitment of CEO’s network of partners, CEO served about 14,500 people and moved more than a quarter million pounds of food each and every week over the past year.
“While these numbers may seem overwhelming, we expect the same, if not an increase in the need for healthy, nutritious food in our communities as we move forward,” Warabak said.
According to CEO’s latest reports, 2022 could be considered “post-COVID.”
”While we did see a decline in need in comparison to 2020-2021, we still served far more people and more food than we did in 2019, pre-COVID,” Warabak said. “The pandemic truly has changed our world, we are still reeling from its effects — increased food cost, increased need, all without the increased support — both public and private that we had in 2020.”
In April, 2023, CEO served more than 30,000 clients in its four-county region of Luzerne, Lackawanna, Wyoming and Susquehanna counties.
CEO is a community based, nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation created in 1966.
CEO’s Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank, dedicated in 1996, began with 18 member agencies distributing approximately 1.1 million pounds of food and grocery products. Last year the food bank distributed 14.8 million pounds of food via nearly 300 partners offering more than 12 million meals to hungry children, adults and the elderly.
For more information or to donate, call the Commission on Economic Opportunity at 570-825-4331.