As co-managers of the Sewickley Community Center Food Pantry, Miriam Rader and June Wormsley make sure the shelves are stocked, with the most recent use, sell and buy dates in the front.
“We are constantly checking and re-arranging items,” said Wormsley, whose mother, Lucille Blair, was a member of the group that started the food pantry. “It breaks my heart to see food wasted.”
She and Rader strive to make sure the nourishment feeds people in need.
And there are definitely people in need, they both said as the women talked about their calling as volunteers in the Sewickley area. The pantry provides non-perishable food and items such as butter and meat and fresh produce at various times throughout the year. In addition to food, there are other products for every day living from paper towels and toilet paper to hygiene essentials from soap and shampoo to diapers to menstrual products.
The pantry is open twice a month — the second and fourth Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Rader and Wormsley help anyone who stops by. Some come with friends and neighbors because they don’t have a car. Others walk or take a bus. Areas they serve include all of Quaker Valley School District, Edgeworth, Leetsdale and Leet, Coraopolis and parts of Moon.
There is a basic form to fill out.
“We never ask for financial information,” Rader said. “We believe if they come here they need the food and other items we have in stock.”
The two are mindful of keeping clients anonymous. They‘ve connected with people who often share their stories about a lost job, health issues or personal challenging situation, which remain confidential.
“We respect their privacy,” Rader said. “We build a trust with people. We are here to help them. No one should go without food.”
Quaker Valley School District is a huge supporter, as is Fern Hollow Nature Center and the Girl Scouts. Area churches — including St. Matthews AME Zion, Triumph Church, Sewickley Presbyterian church through its Neighbor in Need program and Sewickley United Methodist Church, which has what it calls a Pastor’s Pantry full of non-perishable food items — are always willing to help any time of the year.
At Thanksgiving and Easter, the congregation at the United Methodist Church creates bags filled with items to make a full dinner with items such as stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pie crust and filling. Each bag includes a gift card to purchase a turkey, ham or anything else the client needs.
The Rev. Hannah Loughman, who has been pastor of Sewickley United Methodist Church the past four and a half years, said she doesn’t know when the donating started but it is an important ministry. Barbara Bower, chair of the church’s outreach committee, reaches out to Rader and Wormsley and asks what is needed.
Donations are sought through the church’s newsletter, website and social media.
“There is a need,” said Loughman. “We try to pick up a few extra items when shopping. We continue to give because it is something we can do to help. We have gratitude for what we have and we also have gratitude for what the food bank does. Food insecurity is real.”
Every year for the Super Bowl, the church collects soup for what it calls a “souper bowl,” Loughman said. She encourages people to buy items with easy open lids.
”We are mindful someone might not have a can opener or for the elderly, they need something that is easy to open,” Loughman said. “People at the church are generous. People in Sewickley are generous. “
The Sewickley Community Center Food Pantry was established in 1983 and operated by women from St. Matthews AME Zion Church and Triumph Baptist Church.
Many others came after to volunteer, Wormsley said, including Nora Spears who arrived in 1985 and served the pantry for 32 years. Her daughter, Marilyn Williams took over operating the pantry until 2020, which is when former Sewickley Community Center board members Wormsley and Rader took control.
”It can be humbling coming to a food bank and we understand that anything can happen in people’s lives where they need help,” Rader said. “The number of people who come by shows there is a need.”
On average they help 10 clients each time and more during the holidays. Numbers rose during the 2020 pandemic — at that time, they would pack bags and bring them outside to people waiting.
These days, people get to come into the pantry and select what they want.
“We let them choose because everyone’s tastes are different,” Rader said.
The food pantry offers vegan and vegetarian choices. If they get a donation of gluten free items, they make sure to let people know. Non-food items can include diapers, trash bags and toiletries, things the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program doesn’t cover. In the summer, they try to offer fresh produce and around the July 4 holiday, they work to stock hot dogs, buns, ketchup and mustard for picnics.
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If they have too much of one item and it’s about to expire, they connect with other food pantries that do the same with them. Pittsburgh-based Light of Life Mission is a place they’ve brought food to and 412 Food Rescue has brought food to the Sewickley Community Center. One year, Wormsley took some excess turkey donations and gave them to employees at an area thrift store because there was a full pallet, which was too many for the pantry’s freezer.
“We are grateful for the Sewickley Community Center and the goodness of our local community that has been making the distributions possible for all these years,” Rader said.
Wormsley and Rader purchase what’s needed with monetary donations. Both women said they continually receive support from their families whether it is to help pack or pick up food or organize the shelves, which are divided by fruits and vegetables, cereal and breakfast foods, pasta and sauces and soups. They have coffee and tea and a box with individual snacks. Trash bags, diapers, wipes, shampoo and soap, toothpaste and tooth brushes and paper products are situated together.
“People have thanked us and some have said they don’t need us anymore because they started a new job and things are getting better for them,” Wormsley said. “That is satisfying. It feels really good.”
Non-perishable food items that are not expired, toiletries and monetary donations are being accepted at the Sewickley Community Center, located at 15 Chadwick St., Sewickleyon the second and fourth Wednesday of the month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at top of the ramp on Ohio River Boulevard side of the building.
Details:sewickleycommunitycenter.com