Food Pantry Struggles To Keep Shelves Filled In Horsham

HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —The shelves are a little sparse of late at the St. Vincent DePaul Society Food Bank at St. Catherine's of Siena Church.

It's a constant battle as churches that run food pantries and offer free meals in Montgomery County and the region struggle to keep food donations coming in as the need to feed continues to grow.

In neighboring Hatboro for example, one church had to cut back offering free meals to residents to once a month after several years of serving two meals a month.

"In the last few months, our donations have dropped and we are finding it a challenge to keep our shelves fully stocked," said Patty Muscatello, who runs the Witmer Road food bank in the church hall of St. Catherine's of Siena Church.

The non-profit pantry is open from 10 a.m. to Noon on Saturdays and helps an average of 70-90 people each week, Muscatello said.

Since the food bank is open on a weekend day, it also attracts needy from Bucks County towns like Feasterville and Levittown.

Muscatello is trying to get the word out about food donations.

She'll have a table set up Sunday at the Horsham Farmers Market inside the Community Center and is asking the community to donate a non-perishable item when they visit the market.

The pantry accepts coffee and tea, pasta and sauce, canned mixed vegetables and fruit, cans of tuna, rice, crackers, salad dressing, cereal, juice boxes and bottles, pancake mix and syrup, granola bars, and other food items.

Muscatello had a booth at Horsham Day earlier this summer to pitch the food pantry's cause and pass out literature on the services the pantry provides.

"Our mission is to help the poor and be an advocate for those in need," she said. "Our clients face the harsh realities of low income or unemployment. They often struggle to keep food on their table, a roof over their heads, and still have enough money to pay for bare necessities."

Besides providing food, the pantry also offers financial assistance where it can, meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and Christmas gifts through its Christmas Guardian Angel Program.

About $700 was raised along with much-needed collected food for the St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank at the township's recent National Night Out event.

In February, Horsham Township donated a $2,000 check to the food pantry from the proceeds of the 10th Annual Freezer 5k Run in December that was held at Simmons Elementary School on the Power Line Trail.