ALLENTOWN, Pa. — For the past 15 years, Allentown Central Catholic students have made sure their Jordan Heights neighbors don’t go hungry.
The Vikings have embraced their high school's location at 4th and Chew streets through the Central City Project, or CCP, a social justice initiative aimed at building community and feeding those in need.
“We want to be salt and light into this community..."Pat Markham, coordinator of the Central City Project and a theology teacher at Central Catholic
“We want to be salt and light into this community, and not just be confined to ourselves, but have our spirituality spill out and live it," said Pat Markham, coordinator of the Central City Project and a theology teacher at Central Catholic.
Through the project, students run a monthly food pantry to serve nearby residents.
The pantry distribution site is in front of 317 N. 4th St., next to the entrance of Rockne Hall, the school’s gymnasium.
Distribution runs from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. on the last Tuesday of each month.
However, the Central City Project’s next pantry distribution day is Dec. 16., which is earlier than usual because of the school’s holiday break.
The pantry operates from September to April. No ID is required to get food.
Additionally, as part of the project, students maintain an urban garden, tutor local youth and hold an after-school pickleball club at Allentown public schools.
This academic year the high schoolers are tutoring students at Central Elementary School.
The pickleball club was offered at Raub Middle School this fall and will start again there in the spring.
Central City Project History
The Central City Project, founded in 2010 by the Rev. John Gribowich, a former Central Catholic teacher, draws inspiration from the Catholic Worker Movement, founded during the Great Depression by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin.
The Catholic Worker Movement centers on housing and feeding the poor. It also has a back-to-the-land element with a focus on cooperative farming.
About 10 years ago, Central Catholic created the Day Maurin Society to recognize students who dedicate themselves to community service.
To join the honors society, students must complete three times the amount of service hours required by their school, and at least a third of those hours must be done with the Central City Project.
Central Catholic’s community service requirements range from five hours for freshmen to 20 hours for seniors.
One way students can serve the community through the Central City Project is by helping to grow hot peppers, tomatoes and other vegetables at the Amy Sullivan Memorial Garden, at 951 N. 4th St.
The garden’s produce is then used to make salsa and hot sauces to sell at Central Catholic events, such as football games, to help fund the project.
Fresh fruits and vegetables from the garden also are given to residents who come to the monthly pantry distributions.
The Central City Project has included urban gardening and salsa making since its inception more than a decade ago.
Additionally, in the early days, students served community dinners at the former Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Allentown. Then in 2019, Central Catholic added its food pantry.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, the food pantry became a more practical way to feed people because of social distancing precautions.
As a result, community dinners stopped, and the pantry has continued as the project’s way of feeding people in the years since.
Way for students to 'express our Catholic faith'
Today, about 50 families from Jordan Heights and the nearby 6th Ward come to the pantry each month to receive a bag of food with 18 items, ranging from fruits and vegetables to rice and macaroni and cheese.
The food comes from the Central City Project’s urban garden and from food drives held at Central Catholic.
“I really just love seeing the smiles on the people’s faces and the relief that they feel when they receive the bags."Valentina Munoz, 16-year-old Central Catholic junior
Valentina Munoz, a 16-year-old junior, said working at the pantry is a good opportunity for her and fellow students “to express our Catholic faith.”
Munoz serves as a translator at the pantry, communicating with the many Spanish speakers who come to distribution days.
“I really just love seeing the smiles on the people’s faces and the relief that they feel when they receive the bags,” she said.
Alesia Castillo, 28, of Allentown, attended the pantry’s October distribution day after her living situation recently changed, affecting her access to cooked meals, she said.
“I like how they said that they have a garden, [and] on top of it, I like how they have it organized well,” she said.
Castillo learned about the pantry through the city’s health bureau, she said.
Luis Rodriguez, 62, of Allentown, lives near Central Catholic and goes to the pantry to get food for himself and his 83-year-old neighbor, he said.
“Every little thing does help, especially with people who are older and their family is not around as often as they’re supposed to be,” he said.
Rodriguez, who also volunteers at a local food bank, said free food would be essential amid the government shutdown, which caused some people to miss their November food stamp benefits.
However, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, has since been restored.
Still, new work requirements and other changes to SNAP have reduced people’s payments or changed their eligibility altogether as of November.
Central Catholic embraces its location
Central Catholic senior Aidan Winas has worked at the CCP pantry throughout his high school career, distributing food to neighbors like Castillo and Rodriguez.
Winas, 17, said the Central City Project has helped him connect more with the community surrounding Central Catholic.
“They would think it’s kind of in a bad area, but it most definitely is not."Central Catholic senior Aidan Winas
“Not only just with CCP, but every single person I interact with down here is just super kind,” he said.
The neighborhood sometimes gets a bad rap — especially from people who don’t go to the high school, he said.
“They would think it’s kind of in a bad area, but it most definitely is not,” he said.
Winas also has participated in the Central City project by watering plants at the urban garden, making salsa and playing pickleball with other Allentown students.
“I like giving back to the community,” Winas said.
The pantry's next distribution day on Dec. 16 will include extra offerings, thanks to the efforts of students in Central Catholic clubs.
In addition to a bag of food, each person who visits the pantry can get two toys and crocheted items, such as hats and gloves.
To donate items to the pantry, email Pat Markham at pmarkham@acchs.info.
