UPPER NAZARETH TWP., Pa. — The pain in Marci Lesko’s heart is eclipsed only by the pain in the stomachs and minds of the many in need.
They are the less fortunate throughout the Lehigh Valley — folks for whom hunger is a constant, unwanted companion; those who have empty cupboards and a pantry full of worry.
The term “food insecurity” truly fails to adequately describe their condition.
One word does: hunger.
“It puts a lump in my throat. These folks need to be helped.”Marci Lesko, chief executive officer of the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley
“The calls are heartbreaking,” Lesko, chief executive officer of the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, said at a news conference Tuesday at Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania.
“We have people at our food pantries hearing from people saying things like, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do because I can’t feed my family.’ And ‘I’m so ashamed.’ And ‘I went to the pantry, but they don’t have some of the things our family needs.’
“It puts a lump in my throat. These folks need to be helped.”
That is what Tuesday afternoon was all about.
The United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley and the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation held a news conference to announce that $667,000 has been raised to address the needs of those in need.
Seventy-five businesses, organizations and individuals contributed to both nonprofits’ Critical Support Fund, which was founded to meet the immediate needs of rising food insecurity in the Valley.
'As challenges persist, so will we'
More than 40% of Greater Lehigh Valley residents live paycheck to paycheck. Funding pauses and reduction changes to programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, have created increased need.
Currently, just over 106,000 people receive SNAP benefits in the region.
At the same time, many of the region’s social service providers are struggling to keep up with the need and have not been able to access funding that typically supports food access programs.
Throughout the news conference, volunteers from several agencies continued packing boxes of non-perishable food in one section of the spacious warehouse.
Bulk orders of produce, dry goods, rice beans and other shelf-stable items have been placed through Second Harvest and are being distributed to more than 100 food pantries.
Additional orders of beef, turkey and chicken have been secured through local farmers and regional suppliers to help meet the need for proteins.
Megan Briggs, of Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, called food “a human right.”
Despite the recent reopening of the federal government and resumption of SNAP benefits, Briggs said, the crisis is not over.
“There is much to do,” she said. “And as challenges persist, so will we.”
'Gave above and beyond'
Nearly $700,000 was raised to benefit food pantries in Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon and Monroe counties in just two weeks.
“We launched the fund on Oct. 30 and went public with it the next day,” said Laura McHugh, chief engagement officer of the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley.
“We set a goal of $500,000. But in just two weeks, we surpassed that.”
Said Dawn Godshall, chief executive officer of Community Action Lehigh Valley: “We are so grateful to our partners who have stepped up to address needs.
"They gave above and beyond to make sure no one in the Greater Lehigh Valley goes hungry.”
What’s remarkable about the $667,000 figure is that it came during the United Way’s annual campaign, which to date has raised nearly $27 million.
“There aren’t even any words for it. People have been unbelievably generous."Marci Lesko, president and CEO, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley
“To raise another nearly $700,000 in addition to that, while we’re in our active campaign, says so much about the Greater Lehigh Valley,” Lesko said.
“There aren’t even any words for it. People have been unbelievably generous. Some people saying, ‘I’m going to give you $10, but I can’t give more than that.’ And then another donor saying, ‘I’m going to give you $50,000 after they already gave to the annual campaign.’
Lesko shook her head in the amazement of the degree of generosity.
“Many days, it has left me with a lump in my throat,” she said. “I am just amazed.”
