Written by Lily Struble
“Our Kids” Food Pantry is based at Wallenpaupack Area High School;
however, it serves all families in our entire district. Mrs. Martynuk, the program’s
founder, started the pantry six years ago around Thanksgiving. She heard plenty of
sad stories from her students who talked about never celebrating much during the
holidays due to financial situations at home. As Mrs. Martynuk explained, her
inner Italian-woman kicked in and she knew that she had to act with the strongest
thing she knew; food.
Over the past six years, the program has grown from the original 17 families who
benefited to more than 170 families. Each holiday, the Food Pantry teams up with
Volunteers in Paupack (VIP) to decorate boxes seasonally and provide food and
toiletries to those in need. They provide Thanksgiving turkeys and Christmas
hams, as well as other essentials. This service is year-round, and it is provided to
any and every student in need.
The program is supported by the Second Harvest Food Bank as well as the
community through food or monetary donations. Mrs. Martynuk is eternally
grateful for the extremely generous and supportive responses from the
community over the years.
Our Kids Food Pantry volunteers work tirelessly to prepare bags of food each
week. These bags contain breakfast items such as pancake mix or cereals, canned
fruits and vegetables, rice, evaporated milk, pastas, sauces, and even some sweet
treats. The bags are packed to the max, with volunteers managing to cram in an
extra box (or two) of mac-and-cheese wherever they can.
The biggest event of the year for Our Kids Food Pantry is taking place before the
homecoming game on Friday, October 13th. The event will consist of a drive
through in front of Wallenpaupack Area High School, where generous community
members may drop off donations of food or money in exchange for a free ticket to
the game later that evening.
