Shenandoah has a food pantry once again
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Volunteers load food into a car at the food pantry distribution at Iglesia Cristiana El Dios Vivo on West Oak Street in Shenandoah on Feb. 18, 2025.
SHENANDOAH – Shenandoah has a regular food pantry for the first time since last summer.
Iglesia Cristiana El Dios Vivo church, in the former synagogue on West Oak Street, is now hosting a monthly food pantry distribution in partnership with the Schuylkill Community Action’s Schuylkill Food Network.
The second distribution was held midday Tuesday.
Shenandoah had been without a food pantry since the Beverly Mattson Food Bank, displaced by the collapse and demolition of the J.W. Cooper Community Center, left town to become Pottsville’s second food pantry.
Gily Kelly, secretary for the church, told the Sentinel they have had a small food pantry for awhile and had heard about the closure and demolition and saw the opportunity to fill a void and fulfill a spiritual calling.
“We always like getting opportunities to help the community,” Pastor Jose Quezada told the Sentinel. “We don’t want to be just religion people but people who can help each other around.”
“From 2016 when we opened this church, we have been seeing a lot of poor people, people in need, so we see the opportunity to work together with [SCA] and we feel very happy and blessed for God,” Quezada added. “We’ve been the channel for other people to receive help.”
Kelly said they’ve seen a lot of need and have had several hundred people use the food pantry.
Volunteers are welcome to help out, the organizers said.
In a letter to the Shenandoah Valley School District in appreciation for food donations from the rivalry food drive competition in October, David Young, executive director of Schuylkill Community Action, said the need for food never went away in Shenandoah.
The food pantry distributes the third Tuesday of each month from 11am to 1pm and serves the Shenandoah Valley.
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