BETHLEHEM, Pa. — River Crossing YMCA celebrated a valued partnership with supermarket franchise Giant that will provide thousands of meals to hundreds of adults and children across the Lehigh Valley on Tuesday afternoon.
Giant team members came to the YMCA on East Broad Street to take a tour of the facility, in addition to volunteering to pack fresh produce boxes, and overall celebrate the partnership which has gone a long way toward combating hunger in the Lehigh Valley and beyond.
The partnership between the grocer and the charitable organization helps assist families throughout the Lehigh Valley and the Bucks County region, officials said, calling the bond “a remarkable collaboration that supports crucial community food access initiatives.”
“This is a real kind of triumph in partnership to be able to expand our relationship with GIANT in the Lehigh Valley so that we can have a wider reach and have broader impact."YMCA Associate Director of Communications Michael Reisman
According to a release from the YMCA, Giant's support will help the group distribute over 6,000 gallons of milk and 5,000 meals and bags of fresh produce throughout the Lehigh Valley.
River Crossing YMCA Director of Corporate Fundraising and Special Events Maggie Lester said Giant has been an invaluable partner for the YMCA, allowing them to provide even more food for more people in need.
“They've been a longtime supporter of our programs in Bucks County, and with our recent merger with Greater Valley, they're supporting their senior hubs feeding program as well in Greater Valley. So it's really just a day of celebration of that partnership and feeding our local communities,” Lester said, adding when the YMCA explored expansion opportunities for their feeding programs, Giant was ready to help support seniors, families, and “everyone in our community.”
Following a quick photo opportunity with representatives from Giant and the YMCA crew, the Giant workers offered to pack up 50 bags of fresh food for the community.
Families were invited to swing by that afternoon to pick up the fresh produce, which came from local farms.
"Food Insecurity is a huge thing. In all of the counties in which we serve, and being able to have corporate partners that can help us in that mission work to provide not just food, but healthy, nutritious, fresh fruit to our population in our community is, is huge. It's huge,” Lester said.
YMCA Senior Director of Community Impact Maribel Tandazo said that the charitable organization has built a strong connection with residents of the local housing centers, in addition to connecting with local libraries to connect with more people in need.
Tandazo said the YMCA hopes to restart such initiatives as soon as next month.
“We're really excited to not just provide all the meals for the kids that we're serving in our childcare centers and our community programs for adults and our seniors as well,” Tandazo said.
“We went from five sites back in 2018 to upward of 25 community sites that we're at right now here in Bethlehem.”
River Crossing YMCA operates member branches in Doylestown, Fairless Hills, Newtown, Quakertown and Warminster in Bucks County; Allentown and Catasauqua in Lehigh County; and Bethlehem, Easton, Nazareth and Pen Argyl in Northampton County.
In addition, the YMCA runs childcare centers in Morrisville, New Britain, New Hope and Quakertown in Bucks County, as well as the Forks Education Center near the Easton branch in Northampton County.
In Hunterdon County, the YMCA has the Deer Path branch in Flemington, with childcare centers in Annandale and Milford. Outdoor camp properties include Camp Carr in Clinton Township, New Jersey and Holland Outdoor Center in Holland.
The normally formed YMCA will eventually employ over 2,000 people, serving more than 142,000 members and participants, and provides more than $12 million in charitable spending out of its $55 million revenue stream.
Reisman said Tuesday’s celebration was an excellent demonstration of the real-world impact the group can attain with the help of a community partner like Giant.
“This is a real kind of triumph in partnership to be able to expand our relationship with Giant in the Lehigh Valley so that we can have a wider reach and have broader impact,” YMCA Associate Director of Communications Michael Reisman said.
According to Reisman, in 2023, the YMCA provided over 210,000 nutritious meals and snacks to 7,210 children and 3,748 adults at risk of food insecurity in the Lehigh Valley.
“In addition to the distribution of healthy meals and snacks, the Y held 28 nutrition education sessions throughout its childcare centers in the Lehigh Valley, teaching children the importance of healthy food choices. In Bucks County, the Y provided more than 350 children nearly 38,000 meals and snacks, made possible in part by the collaboration with Giant,” Reisman said.
