YORK, Pa. — It was all hands on deck at the York County Food Bank, as volunteers from Harvest of Blessing Food and Clothing Pantry tried to make up for lost time.
“Unfortunately, I had to close down due to the weather on Tuesday and last Friday,” said Jural Toby, the founder and CEO of Harvest of Blessing Food and Clothing Pantry.
Last week’s winter weather made it difficult for some people to access food at their local banks and pantries.
Shari Gordon, the executive director of Catholic Harvest Food Pantry, also found it hard to get food out.
“There were volunteers that couldn’t necessarily get in because of the weather, there were families that come to get food that couldn’t get here,” Gordon said.
Luckily, most families didn't go hungry.
“We tried to let people know in advance when we made the decision [that] we were going to close on Friday so that we could get a lot of people in on Thursday and prepare people to be on the schedule for Monday,” Gordon said.
Catholic Harvest was also able to deliver food to people outside of York using its mobile pantry vehicle, despite the conditions on the road.
Gordon says pantries rely on one another to distribute food if one location cannot.
“I think the community comes together in times when there are weather issues or other issues.”
Pantries like Toby’s gave people extra food to fill the gap from last week.
“When I see these families come in here with their children, I just get so teary-eyed, and my mind goes back to when I was a little kid, and we didn’t get nothing like what these people are getting today,” Toby explained.
Toby and Gordon are expected to return to regular distribution by providing food to more than 150 families.
Both organizations are asking for non-perishable food donations and warm clothing during the winter months. For a list of food banks, click here.