Altoona Church asking for volunteers and food donations

ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) —  One Altoona church is looking for volunteers and food donations to help prepare for their monthly food distributions this year.

On Wednesday, volunteers for the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church prepared for the church’s monthly food distribution, and there’s always a lot that needs to be done.

“We get most of our food from the Central PA food bank in Harrisburg. Some of it is free, some is low-cost, but we run on donations,” Woody Pyeatt, Leader/Organizer of the church’s food pantry said.

The church distributes food from the pantry on a Thursday of each month from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the entrance by 8th Avenue and 13th Street in Altoona. The next distribution is on Jan. 25 and the church has prepared 400 boxes to hand out.

Each box is organized and labeled at the pantry for servings. For example, a box with the number 2 on it, will have enough food to feed two people in a household.

“We do about 100 family units. A family could be 1 person or it could be 9 people. It all depends on how many people are in the family,” Pyeatt said.

Volunteers at the pantry said that the number of people who need assistance has tripled since the distributions started, and they’re grateful for any donations they get.

“That’s what we do here. We give back to everybody. We don’t turn anything away. Whatever we get, we distribute as much as possible. It’s actually heartwarming to be able to do this,” Tina Miller, a volunteer at the food pantry said.

However, to keep going, the church is asking for help with donations of food or money.

The most important items that the church needs are soups, vegetables, sauces, cereals and any other non-perishable food.

“No money comes out of the church budget for this. It’s strictly what is donated for the food pantry and food pantry money doesn’t get spent for the church expenses. So luckily, we’ve been able to keep our head above water,” Pyeatt said.

You can find the rest of this year’s food pantry distributions below:

• Feb. 29
• March 21
• April 25
• May 23
• June 27
• July 25 – (RECERTIFICATION DAY) Please bring the birth certificate for all kids 17 and under Photo ID and a piece of mail with current address for everyone 18 and older
• Aug. 29
• Sep. 26
• Oct. 24
• Nov. 21
• Dec. 19

Food distribution is done on a drive-up basis. Anyone interested in receiving food from the pantry is asked to park along 8th Avenue by the side of the church. Masks are encouraged for those traveling on foot.

Monetary donations can be sent to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church at 806 13th St, Altoona, PA 16602, or to their Paypal.