United Neighborhood Centers boosts food aid with 40th annual Feed a Friend program

The United Neighborhood Centers Community Center is gearing up to fight food insecurity ahead of the holidays with its 40th annual Feed a Friend program.

The program will serve all of Lackawanna County in preparation for the hectic, and often expensive, holiday season that typically sees many families spending hundreds of dollars on food.

With their feed a friend program the United Neighborhood Centers are expecting to serve at least 1,500 families this year.

Chrissy Manuel, the director of development and communication with the United Neighborhood Centers, says that they’ve seen a major increase in families they serve since the pandemic.

“Costs have gone up and there's more instability. The prices of groceries, the price of heating your home. If it costs more to heat your homes then of course you have less money for groceries so we’re starting to see more and more people that we’ve never seen before come into the pantry,” Manuel added.

Due to that increase in families their pantry serves, especially during the holiday season, they’ve struggled to keep up with the demand for food, which is why food drives like these are important.

“In the past where 10, 20 or 30 dollars used to go a lot further, We’re really not seeing it go as far as it used to be able to go. Pantry’s are becoming a necessity for people in household rather than a one off here and there,” Jessica Wallo Director of Community Services

The centers will also be collecting food donations at their location in Scranton and through 75 different participating businesses across Lackawanna County.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to make sure that children’s bellies are full for Thanksgiving and families are fed,” Wallo said.

The food and monetary donations collected from this program will help keep the pantry afloat throughout the rest of the holiday season.

For more information on how to donate or help registering,click here.