WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Volunteers at St. Vincent de Paul Kitchen and Food Pantry in Wilkes-Barre are busy sorting can and filling grocery bags. It's all for an Easter dinner food distribution.
"We don't do it this time of the year, but we decided to do it, to help people out, you know, hopefully, you're having a family over because everybody's getting the shots and the COVID restrictions are a little less. So I think you can help them out at having a home dinner," said Mike Cianciotta, director of the facility.
No questions asked, those in need were able to take home bags of food to help them stay fed through the holiday weekend.
"The bags basically has, you know, instant mashed potatoes mac and cheese, yams, most of the stuff that you will need. We have canned vegetables, and we're also giving the choice of taking a ham, fresh ham, or a turkey," added Cianciotta.
Cianciotta tells Newswatch 16 he was happy to see a large number of people come to this Easter food distribution because numbers have been down over the winter due to the pandemic.
"We definitely see our numbers increased slightly. We're missing our older people because they were afraid to come out. So now it's time to come out and come back to the kitchen," said Cianciotta.
St. Vincent De Paul's has made some changes to its operation because of the pandemic. Right now, only one person is allowed in at a time to get the daily hot meals from the kitchen.
Its clothing area has been closed for almost a year, but it is scheduled to open back up soon. Starting Tuesday, April 20, the clothing room will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The kitchen will also be hosting a hot meal distribution on Easter Sunday. That will be in to-go containers from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.