Food pantries across the Lehigh Valley are working to do more with less as the number of people they serve rise

Food pantries across the Lehigh Valley are working to do more with less as the number of people they serve rise

By Ben Stemrich

April 13, 2020

Veronne Demesyeux is the Director of Operations at New Bethany Ministries in Bethlehem. She says volunteers wear masks and gloves, disinfect everything and bring pre-packed bags out to cars so clients don’t have to come outside.

“We were serving maybe 60 to 80 people a day, as of recently over the last few weeks it’s been 80 to 100 people a day,” said Demesyeux. 

But because of health concerns with the virus and  the age of many volunteers, New Bethany is short staffed

We’re used to operating first and foremost all of our staff, plus seven to ten volunteers a day. At this time, we do want to promote the health of everybody, so we’re at about two to four volunteers.”

Despite the extra demand on New Bethany Ministries Food Pantry, there hasn’t been a shortage of food yet. Demesyeux says a lot of that has to do with the community stepping up. Closed restaurants have donated food, a church and a healthcare company has donated Easter baskets and a local university has provided Easter breakfast for families.

If you’d like to find out more about New Bethany Ministries Services, or to make a donation, you can find out more on their website at www.newbethanyministries.org. They need cleaning and sanitizing supplies the most.