A Penns Valley food pantry will soon close. Here’s why, and where to find nearby services
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- Penns Valley Youth Center will close its Food Centre pantry at week’s end.
- Center wants to refocus priorities and will partner with nearby churches.
- Youth Center will still keep after-school programs, meal events and community outreach.
A Penns Valley food pantry announced publicly Tuesday that it would permanently close its doors at the end of the week — in part so its founding organization can better focus efforts on its intended purpose involving students and youth ministry.
Penns Valley Youth Center, a nonprofit that has operated the Food Centre pantry since before the COVID-19 pandemic, expanded the pantry in 2020 and estimated it helped at least 30 families a week. According to Mark Fisher, the youth center’s executive director, families and volunteers were informed of the change about a month ago.
The youth center was originally created to provide after-school programs, Bible studies and other youth ministry. Fisher said the pantry drifts from that mission and, with lessened pantry demand since the pandemic, he and other officials believe neighboring organizations could fill the remaining need.
“The youth center has always been focused on students and youth ministry,” Fisher added. “So we are moving closer to that mission even more so this year and the coming years. And ... we want to partner with people who do food pantries and do it well.”
Among alternatives to the twice-weekly Food Centre, Fisher said, include monthly pantries and food distribution sites at Salem Lutheran Church (Aaronsburg), Grace United Methodist (Centre Hall) and fraternal order Progress Grange (Centre Hall). A diaper depot is also run out of Trinity United Church of Christ (Centre Hall), and New Hope Lutheran Church (Spring Mills) distributes food about every six weeks.
Fisher reiterated that the Penns Valley Youth Center, which was founded in 2011, isn’t going anywhere and remains housed within Spring Mills’ Old Gregg School Community and Recreation Center.
It will continue to run after-school programs for students in kindergarten through 12th grade, and the Penns Valley Youth Center will continue serving meals as part of youth fellowship activities that involve worship and discussion. Fisher said the center also hopes to expand its outreach, with more events like the one it had around Valentine’s Day — one that offered free babysitting for parents.
“We want to be a bridge builder for our community,” Fisher said. “There are a lot of pantries that do this well, and we’d like to build bridges so the people we serve can connect to those pantries.”
For more information on the Penns Valley Youth Center, including its offerings and how to donate, visit PennsValleyYouthCenter.com.
