Welcome To The Salvation Army Of Reading
Whether it’s embracing the homeless, uplifting the abused or abandoned, training and mentoring the disadvantaged, providing character building programs for youth, or assisting the displaced or elderly, The Salvation Army’s goal remains the same: serving the most people, meeting the most needs, DOING THE MOST GOOD!When you give to The Salvation Army, expect change. Change in the number of teens finding mentors and staying in school. Change in the lives of people devastated by fire and flooding. Change in the violence plaguing our neighborhoods. Change in the lives of families torn apart by drug and alcohol addiction. By addressing the whole person – physically, emotionally and spiritually – The Salvation Army of Reading offers hope and creates change.
St Vincent De Paul Food Pantry
The St. Vincent de Paul food pantry operates around Reading, Pennsylvania much like a grocery store where people in need can choose their own food. It helps to enhance their personal dignity and reduces waste due to unwanted food items.
It also helps them to be proactive in addressing any underlying health issues. This is our model of choice for food pantries in the future.
We have located 0 St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry locations in Reading, Pennsylvania which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
Who Can Visit A Drive
Drive-thru pantries are open for anyone who needs help getting food. There are no eligibility criteria. Visitors do not need to provide any identification or income statements.
Only two piece of information is asked
- You Zipcode, and
- Number of people in their family.
You dont need to take appointment. Drive-thru pantries are first-come, first served so plan to arrive early.
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Additional Free Food Programs In Berks County
For additional locations, some of which may be closer to where the family lives, dial 610.926.5802. Several other free food pantries that may be near you help the less fortunate in Berks County. Assistance ranges from applications to public aid such as SNAP to Meals on Wheels or a box of groceries.
Visiting A Food Pantry
Aimee Hafer is the Marketing and Development Assistant at Helping Harvest, a food bank in Reading, PA, that supplies food to more than 300 partner agencies and feeding programs throughout Berks and Schuylkill Counties. She is in touch with many operational food pantries and shared some advice with us about what to expect from a visit to them.
Due to social distancing protocols, food pantries are distributing as drive-through operations wherever possible, Hafer says. People drive through the line, and volunteers load the car with emergency food boxes. In urban areas where there is not possible to have a drive-through, pantries are held outdoors. Shoppers walk through the line, and pick up their items.
You may have seen footage on the news or social media of hundreds of cars in line at food distribution sites. Dont be scared off by those images! Megan Greevy of Feeding PA says that while this has occasionally happened in some places , that it is actually pretty uncommon at the sites she is aware of in Pennsylvania.
A lot of the food banks Ive been talking to are sharing that thats not happening everywhere. At many of the small, local pantries and agencies, there is not a long line to pick up food, she notes.
To help absorb the thousands of newly unemployed people now needing food assistance, Hafer says that Helping Harvest has been actively adding food distribution sites by partnering with other community agencies.
Other things to know:
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Salvation Army Food Pantry
The Salvation Army is dedicated to eliminating food insecurity.
The Salvation Army operates free local food banks around Reading, Pennsylvania from almost all of their local social service centers. The charity organization is involved in feeding millions of families each year, with a large percentage of those assisted being children as well as the elderly.
We have located 3 Salvation Army Food Pantry locations in Reading, Pennsylvania which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
Helping Hands Food Pantry
Helping Hands is a faith-based 501 food pantry operated around Reading, Pennsylvania almost entirely by volunteers.
It provides a 7-day supply of groceries and personal care items free of charge to people in need, regardless of their religious beliefs.
Helping Hands is supported entirely by donations from individuals, service organizations, churches, and businesses in our community.
We have located 0 Helping Hand Food Pantry locations in Reading, Pennsylvania which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
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Mobile Food Pantry Schedule 2023
Unlike traditional food pantries where you go to them, mobile pantry trucks come to you. Food banks sometimes have an online mobile food pantry schedule.
Mobile food pantry scheduled to visit a community once a week or once a month. There may be last-minute cancellations or changes so recheck the mobile food pantry schedule before you plan to go.
We have located 0 Mobile Food Pantry locations in Reading, Model.Content.StateName which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
What Is The Difference Between A Food Bank And A Food Pantry
Independent community food pantries are self-governing and usually distribute food to their clients on a once-a-month basis. A food bank is the storehouse for millions of pounds of food and other products that go out to the community. A food pantry functions as the arms that reach out to that community directly.
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Catholic Charities Food Pantry
Resources provided by the Catholic Charity organization focus on addressing food, holiday, and immigration needs.
Families of all religions, backgrounds, and cultures can contact Catholic Charity centers for help.
Catholic Charities in Reading, Pennsylvania are open to families on a first-come, first-serve basis. The centers operate during normal business hours, and provide walk-ins with groceries, food boxes, and items to prepare a meal.
The food pantries are like grocery stores, allow clients the ability to choose the items they need from the groceries that are available on site.
First-time clients of the food pantry will need to apply, and this is done from a one-page application. An applicant will need to provide basic household member as well as demographic information.
We have located 0 Catholic Charities Food Pantry locations in Reading, Pennsylvania which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
Food Pantry Delivery Program
Food Pantry Delivery Program delivers food and other products once a month at twenty points in around Reading, Pennsylvania area. This makes it just a bit easier for some of more remote rural agencies to receive their products. About 70% of members take advantage of the Food Pantry Delivery Program.
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Food Pantry Vs Food Bank
First, lets define a few general terms, which are important to understand the difference between:
- Food Bank: These are non-profit institutions that collect and store huge amounts of donated and bulk-purchased food, and then distribute that food to member organizations across their specific regions. Feeding Pennsylvania is made up of nine member food banks, that distribute more than 164 million pounds of food to more than 2,700 local agencies each year, including food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and child feeding programs. Often named after their specific area , these food banks are the centralized hubs from which the food flows to more local pantries.
- Food banks are not a place to show up looking for food. They are usually set up like warehouses and are not able to distribute food to individuals.
- Food banks are a place to go for information about where to find food! Their websites will be able to clearly direct you to a place near to you where food distributions are taking place.
Jewish Family Service Of The Jewish Federation Of Reading/berks
The Jewish Family Service of the Jewish Federation of Reading was established in 1979 to respond to the needs of a large elderly population in need of services. The agency now serves all age groups and is dedicated to maintaining and strengthening the quality of individual and family life in the Jewish community.
CONFIDENTIALITY – Jewish Family Service of Reading has a professional responsibility to maintain the highest standards in guarding the confidentiality of the individuals who use our services.
FEES – Jewish Family Service operates on a sliding scale.
SERVICES COUNSELING – Jewish Family Service offers professional counseling for families and individuals. Our staff is professionally trained.
FOOD BANK – Our two monthly food pantries in conjunction with Helping Harvest, distributes groceries to those who meet federal guidelines.
TRANSPORTATION – Jewish Family Service offers a taxi service in the community, which enables seniors and the disabled to get to doctors’ appointments, socialize and remain independent.
OUTREACH – Members of the Jewish community are visited in their homes, hospitals, and long-term care facilities by staff to assess needs.
INFORMATION AND REFERRAL – Jewish Family Service provides information on other services, agencies and resources in the community.
Carole Robinson Director of Social Services /
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Also Check: Where To Donate Food In My Area
Food Pantry In Reading Pennsylvania
A number of food banks, soup kitchens for hot meals and free emergency food pantries in Reading, Pennsylvania distribute groceries to individuals or families who are in some form of an emergency situation.
There are also meals, free bags of food, personal toiletries and household goods for low to moderate income families from food pantries near you.
Distribution centers can include churches, non-profit organizations, community action agencies, and many other local charities as well as non-profits.
What To Expect During Your First Trip To A Pennsylvania Food Pantry
In these unprecedented times rife with uncertainty and economic instability, many Pennsylvanians are faced with food insecurity for the first time in their adult lives. Even before COVID-19 came to the US, there were already approximately 1.5 million of our neighbors without enough food to eat. As unemployment numbers grow, so too will the number of food insecure people in our state, any many will be making their first-ever visit to a local food pantry for support. Perhaps you are among these newcomers to food pantries, and perhaps youre in search of some information about what to expect during your first visit. Asking for help can be a vulnerable, sometimes overwhelming experience, so were here to help with information and advice from local food bank workers, so that hopefully you can feel a little more mentally prepared for your first trip to a Pennsylvania food pantry.
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How Do Drive
There are lot of volunteers help at Drive-thru food pantries. While not all drive-thru pantries operate in the same way, here�s how most work:
Staff and volunteers direct visitors to the parking area.
Visitors pull up to the pantry in their car and are usually guided into a clearly marked queue. As people move through the pantry, staff will continue to move the cars forward to get everyone through as quickly and safely as possible.
Checkin.
You are required to fill some information for Pantry’s recording keeping.
Food is loaded into the cars.
Pre-packed bags of food, usually full of shelf-stable items like pasta, canned fruit and peanut butter, as well as fresh produce and meats are loaded by volunteers into the trunk of the car.
Who We Are
The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is a nonprofit organization committed to ending hunger in 27 counties across central Pennsylvania. By working with more than 1,100 local agencies and programs, we serve more than 144,000 people in need each month through our two Healthy Food Hubs, located in Harrisburg and Williamsport.
Our Mission Statement: fighting hunger, improving lives, strengthening communities
Our Bold Goal:
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