The Green Wave Gazette
Page 2
Stocking the Pantry
The St. Vincent de Paul/Abington Food Pantry provides much needed support to the community
Jenny Worden
Contributor
Pete Worden volunteers
regularly at the food pantry.
Courtesy of Jenny Worden.
“Each canned good or
a box of pasta makes
a huge difference to
someone in need. ”
— Jenny Worden
Whether it is helping to feed Abington residents in need or assisting a
family financially, the St. Vincent De
Paul/Abington Food Pantry is a great
resource in our community. The
food pantry is staffed by over 20
volunteers. My grandfather, Pete
Worden, has served as a volunteer
at the food pantry since retiring
three years ago.
The volunteers at the food pantry
work together doing many jobs that
help the entire process run
smoothly. From big jobs like unloading groceries from the trucks to
little jobs like checking the dates on
cans, every single detail matters.
According to Worden ―shopping
with the people‖ is his favorite thing
to do at the pantry. He also has
―enjoyed meeting new people and
becoming friends with other volun-
teers.‖
Throughout the pantry, there are
many rooms, and each serve a purpose. There is the shopping area,
inventory, walk-in freezers, the meat
room and the waiting room. Small
aisles are set up in the shopping
area so it is easier for people to
move around and find items. The
rooms are well organized. The food
that is stocked in the aisles is usually
the result of generous donations.
Many local business and community
groups donate to the pantry, including Trader Joe‘s, Pea Pod, UTZ,
Abington Public School food drives,
Trucchi‘s, the St. Patrick‘s Day Parade and the Boy Scouts.
Food drives within the school system encourage young children to
think of others and to contribute to
those in need. The small jobs that
the volunteers do help make the
pantry successful in servicing the
community; each canned good or a
box of pasta makes