SCRANTON, Pa. — Friends of the Poor has been filling up more bags—and feeding more families—than ever in Scranton. The nonprofit serves 11,000 people monthly. That's five times the number of people they served prior to the pandemic.
"Food costs are up, food donations are down, and we need to figure out how to increase food security for people in an affordable way," said CEO and President Meghan Loftus.
But a new grant is helping in a big way. $50,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture will go toward expanding the agency's food recovery efforts. Loftus says the program gathers extra and leftover bakery items or premade meals from grocery stores and restaurants.
"We're trying to add a little bit more security because we really had to meet the need and ration what we could give. Right now, we are able to give three days of food based on family size," said Loftus.
Most of the food they bring in through this program would otherwise be thrown out. Instead, it provides much more than a meal for some families.
"We have a lot of participants that come in where it's somebody's birthday, and they wouldn't be able to buy a cake, and now they have cupcakes or a small cake. It really takes that extra burden or extra weight off of them," she explained.
The money will also go toward a new certified re-packing station, allowing them to bring in even more food from local businesses and portion it out to more families.
Loftus says that's expected to be ready by early next year.
"It's going to make that big impact. It's something that's not just a one time; we can do this and recover food for a few months. It's going to set up to be able to do this into the future," she added.
Filling bellies, not dumpsters, in Scranton.
Check out WNEP's YouTube channel.