A pallet of food sat near the storage shed at the Wright Center for Community Health – Mid Valley location in Jermyn, delivered that morning by a friendly driver from the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank.

In two hours, the vehicles would line up in the parking lot next door – drivers and passengers waiting for much-needed help to fill their pantries and refrigerators. Before the nutritious food could be distributed, however, Wright Center volunteers had to unload the delivery and pack hundreds of bright blue cloth bags with fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, juice, meat and other items.

Gerri McAndrew, director of community development and relations and co-director of the Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement (PCE), clapped her hands once to get the attention of a group of volunteers.

“OK! Let’s start lining up the products here at the front, but let’s put the cold stuff back in the shade,” she said. “Then we can start filling the bags like an assembly line.”

Soon, dark purple eggplants and round, glossy spaghetti squash found their way into each bag, followed by bags of yellow potatoes, grapefruits and more. Volunteers were careful not to crush the delicate produce, including the egg cartons. Then the bags were lined up on two distribution tables, and McAndrew, who oversees the monthly food distributions organized by PCE, approached vehicles to greet people waiting to pick up the harvest.

September is Hunger Action Month, a time to raise awareness about hunger in communities across America. McAndrew is familiar with the need on the ground. She oversees regular food distributions at the Wright Center’s community health centers in Mid Valley, North Pocono and Hawley. Other food distributions, including two recent impromptu events at Weston Field in Scranton, are held as needed. The Wright Center began distributing food about a decade ago, McAndrew said, thanks to help from Volunteers of America and later Friends of the Poor.

The need grew exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Wright Center leaders recognized the opportunity to help patients and others in the community they serve. In addition to the Weinberg Food Bank, the Wright Center partners with several community groups to help distribute food, including the Wayne County Food Pantry and the City of Scranton.

“It was a small program that has grown to meet the needs of our communities,” McAndrew said. “There are a lot of people in need who don’t drive. The more places you can offer people to get food, the better for the community.”

Even as the pandemic has subsided, the need for nutritious food has not disappeared. Neither has PCE’s mission to improve the health of our communities through education, advocacy, and patient-centered services that help people overcome food insecurity, homelessness, transportation challenges, and other factors known as social determinants of health. In 2023, food distributions organized by the Wright Center helped nearly 900 families. PCE also donated more than 300 turkeys, turkey breasts, and hams to families for their Thanksgiving meal that same year.

“Many families are suffering from rising prices. Gas, utilities and rent are becoming more expensive,” McAndrew said. “People are faced with difficult choices – paying their electricity and water bills or buying groceries. And in some months they may have to choose between buying their kids soccer shoes and putting food on the table.”

Channel Kearse, an outreach coordinator for the city of Scranton, said many in the Electric City are familiar with these difficult decisions. The city began hosting pop-up events in 2022 to increase Scranton residents’ access to food and is excited to partner with the Wright Center.

“We know there is a great need based on what we and our community partners are seeing,” Kearse said. “Why don’t we bring the resources directly to the neighborhood? We will take every opportunity to help people access services.”

Back at the Mid Valley Health Center, the number of bags dwindled as people came to pick up food. McAndrew’s smile grew as she greeted each person individually and wrote down some basic information she wanted to report to the Weinberg Regional Food Bank.

“No one will be turned away,” she said, looking at the volunteers packing bags into each vehicle. “If we run out, we have resources to make sure no one leaves empty-handed.”

Margaret Esgro, a Peckville resident and regular customer at the Mid Valley food distribution site, appreciates the assurance.

“I’ve been going to this food bank for years,” she said. “What I can’t use, I give to my neighbors in need. There’s a wide variety of vegetables and meat. And it really helps when you’re tight on money. I’m very grateful that this food bank is close to where I live.”