Pottstown Working Hard to Feed Hungry Families

Bags of food are lined up, ready for distribution Monday night at Bethel Community Church of Pottstown. More food will be distributed on Monday, Dec. 28.

Well you can't say people in Pottstown don't care about the hungry.

Cars line up to receive food donations at 

Bethel Community Church of Pottstown.

In addition to the nearly $50,000 already raised by The Mercury's Operation Holiday program, part of which will go toward holiday meals, other efforts are underway as well.

Take, for example, the folks over at Bethel Community Church of Pottstown.

Last week, the church provided donated food to 68 families.

And on Dec. 21, another 135 families were helped.

The menu, according to the Rev. Vernon Ross, was a whole chicken (frozen), sweet corn, cut green beans, collard greens, mushroom soup, cake mix, mac and cheese, flour, cereal, dairy and a stuffed animal and books for the children.

Some of the food donations collected at

Bethel Community Church of Pottstown.

"The cars stretched the entire length of the parking lot entrance and exit," Ross wrote of the church's home on North Keim Street. "What a night of success but we were exhausted," he said.

Exhausted or not, the church intends to be open again to provide more food on Monday, Dec. 28.

Another effort is underway on the other side of town.

For two weeks, Pottstown Borough Council members have teamed up with the borough's fire companies to accept food donations for Pottstown's hungry families.

Firefighters meet to

load the donated food.

Donated food was transported 

to the Cluster food 

pantry Saturday.

According to Borough Council President Dan Weand, the effort, called the Santa Food Challenge, collected about $1,500 worth of food.

"I thank everyone who participated," Weand said.

On Saturday, volunteers from the fire company joined council member and took the food, which was stored in the Santa House at The Alley on High Street, over the food pantry at King and Franklin streets run by the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities.