To better serve the community, the American Rescue Workers (ARW) plans to expand their food pantry by opening a Client Choice area. With a total cost of over $33,000, this new space will be dedicated to dry goods storage, allowing ARW food pantry clients to choose their own food instead of receiving a pre-packed box.
Expected to open in August, the new Client Choice structure was recently installed at the Bridge Street location in Williamsport, adjacent to the Social Services Center, which currently houses all ARW food pantry operations. The structure will be equipped with an HVAC mini-split system for heating and cooling, allowing clients to walk through and select food items. In addition to allowing clients to choose the food they prefer to cook, the Client Choice space will enable the ARW to offer a wider, healthier selection of food, serve more families daily, and provide the highest level of dignity possible for their clients. The ARW currently serves approximately 1,000 families per month at their Social Services location and anticipates the number to grow to 1,500 families.
American Rescue Workers (ARW) was founded in Williamsport in 1934 and has been operating for over 90 years as a rescue mission for the needy by providing rest, shelter, and food through hunger and homelessness relief programs and services. The ARW has always operated on the premise of accepting used goods and then recycling, reselling, or repurposing those goods to generate revenue to help those in crisis. In addition, the ARW operates three homeless shelter programs, including a family emergency shelter, a men’s long-term work rehabilitation program, and a men’s short-term emergency shelter.
The American Rescue Workers Social Services Center is the prevention entity of the organization, taking a holistic approach to prevention by providing not only financial assistance to those in need but also case management services to help clients move toward self-sufficiency.
Annually, American Rescue Workers provides:
– Shelter to over 600 homeless men, women, and children
– Over 100,000 meals for shelter residents and hungry members of the community.
– Three-day emergency supply of groceries to 1,000 families per month.
– Over $247,00 in emergency rental and utility assistance to keep families in their homes.
Each holiday season, the ARW assists over 1,000 families with Christmas food boxes, providing more than 3,000 local men, women, and children with food for a holiday meal, as well as other essential items, to support their families for several days. Sponsors for holiday meals include UPMC, Geisinger Health System, among many others, including hundreds of individual donors.
The ARW has no income requirements for assistance or shelter and is open to anyone in need. This allows them to serve a population of our community that earns above the Federal Poverty Level but cannot afford the basic cost of living in Lycoming County. These households generally do not qualify for public assistance, regardless of struggling to make ends meet. In Lycoming County, 40% of the population makes less than what is estimated to be the basic cost of living. Most of these households are one missed paycheck away from a potential homeless crisis.
The Social Services Center Food Pantry is open five days a week and serves, on average, over 50 families per day. On some days, that number soars to 110 families. Individuals and families in need can receive food assistance up to twice a month, and all recipients are low-income. The Food Pantry operates from a small repurposed residential home, located on Bridge Street in Williamsport. Last year, the ARW distributed 522,747 pounds of food, over 435,000 meals, all of which served 10,000 families. In addition, they give approximately 55 pounds of food bi-monthly, per family. Each of these figures represents at least a 10% increase over the year prior. The need continues to rise every year as the working-class poor become poorer and are unable to afford food after paying basic living bills such as childcare, rent, utilities, and perhaps a vehicle.
“Perhaps the most important element of this project is the general impact beyond the actual number of individuals served”, said Jennifer Rempe, Director of Development and Community Engagement. “The level of dignity we can provide to our clients by giving them options to choose food that they like, know how to cook, or perhaps even want to learn about cooking through our quarterly education programs is beyond any quantifiable figure on a dashboard. Instead of giving individuals a standard pre-packed box of goods, we are shifting independence back to the client. This level of dignity is something that the Central PA Food Bank is certainly trying to promote to us as partners. The increased space will create a more grocery-store type environment, whereby we are providing for the Client’s Choice so that individuals may choose what is right for their family”.
Another new development in the expanding ARW social services operation is the partnership with the Lycoming Day Treatment Program. The program services at-risk youth in the community by providing comprehensive support and meaningful opportunities to give back. Lycoming Day Treatment Program is dedicated to fostering growth in academic achievement, social interaction, communication, and vocational development. Through structured support and skill-building, they strive to empower their students to become responsible, engaged, and productive members of the community. The Lycoming Day Treatment Program will provide volunteers several days a week to help support food pantry operations, including perpetuations for the Client Choice opening and other operations.
When asked how the community came together to make all of these impactful programs possible, Rempe responded, “We are truly blessed to have received full funding for our new Client Choice pantry area, thanks to the incredible generosity of EQT Foundation, M&T Bank Foundation, and The Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation. With no room left to expand at 337 Bridge Street, this separate outbuilding is a huge step forward—allowing us to offer our food-insecure neighbors not just more food, but more dignity and choice. They’ll quite literally be able to go grocery shopping now, selecting the items that best suit their families’ needs. We are beyond excited to open our doors in early August and see this dream become a reality.”
For more information, you can check out the American Rescue Workers online at http://www.arwwilliamsport.org. Better yet, if you would like to make a donation, you can do so via PayPal on their website, mail your donation to American Rescue Workers, 643 Elmira Street, Williamsport, PA 17701, or call 570-323-8401.
