Every year, Shaler Area High School has a food drive to help support a local food pantry, Bread of Life, located in Etna. This year, the high school collected 2,306 items to donate which is more than they have ever collected in previous years. All items were sent to Bread of Life to help serve families in the Shaler Area community.

Bread of Life food pantry has been under grueling demand throughout the government shutdown since Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were cut, so donating food this year may have been more crucial than ever.

Bread of Life has been around since 1989 when a big flood happened in Etna. To meet the needs of the community, Calvert Memorial Presbyterian Church started a small food bank for Etna for small grab bags. It slowly turned into an much larger food pantry that services many families in Shaler Area today.

“Last month, we served 122 families, which is about our average. That is equated to 269 people,” Bread of Life administrator Alexis Weber said.

To help keep Bread of Life running, there are two administrators, Weber and her assistant, as well as about 50 volunteers. This group of dedicated people follow a steady routine. 

On Mondays, volunteers pick food up from Whole Foods in Wexford. On Tuesdays, they pick up from Shop ’n Save, Aldi, and Sheetz. Another team of volunteers stock the shelves and make sure nothing is expired. Wednesdays are the “shopping days” when people can come in and get food. There are shopping volunteers that help people go around and gather what they need, but also make sure they don’t take too much. There is a morning, afternoon, and evening shop. More volunteers work at the front and help people put all the groceries into their car or even push their cart and help them walk home. 

“They come out with probably about $300 worth, maybe more, worth of food,” Weber said.

Bread of Life is a market system food pantry, meaning families can come in and pick what they want, just like a normal grocery store. Shopping days are once a week, but families are only allowed to come and get food once a month, unless there is an emergency situation.

“We do take emergency people who aren’t from the area. I can’t send them home with no food, so until they can get back to their own food bank, we’ll do that,” Weber said. 

Bread of Life tries to provide any type of food families could want. They have non-perishables such as pasta, rice, cereal, and canned fruits and vegetables. They also try to provide fresh bread, milk, chicken, ground beef, and vegetables like potatoes, onions, peppers and celery. 

Bread of Life also does their best to recognize that the people they serve have different backgrounds and eat different things.

“We get a lot of Middle Eastern families, so we try to buy halal so they can have meat too,” Weber said.

Halal is an Arabic word that means “permissible” or “lawful.” In the Islamic religion, meat must be slaughtered the right way in order to be lawful to eat. 

Bread of Life cares about their families. It’s important to them that the families feel seen and that they are getting everything they want and need. Weber is constantly looking for feedback, asking families how they like the food bank, what else they want, and what could be better. 

Along with that, they also provide non-food items that families may need. They have plenty of baby supplies including diapers, wipes, and formula. There is a whole shelf dedicated to personal items like shampoo and body wash, cleaning products, toothpaste, toilet paper, dish soap, and feminine products. They also try to keep dog and cat food in stock.

“We do a lot, not just feed people,” Weber said.

Building relationships with the families is one of the most important parts of the food bank for Weber, who wants to make Bread of Life more than just a place to get food. 

“I try to make sure that if it’s a special month, we recognize it. For example, it was just Veteran’s Day. We baked homemade cookies and we gave them each a lottery card. We had them all stand up and everybody claps. You know, it’s nice.”

They do something similar anytime there is a special day. For Mother’s Day, there are extra raffles and they get lottery tickets.

 During COVID, a volunteer lawyer would come in and talk to people about their struggles, and old nurses would come in just to do simple things like take peoples’ blood pressures. 

They have a small bin of toys and the volunteers will hand out toys to the little kids to play with as they wait in line for food. 

“I just feel so bad, it’s just such a long wait, so we try to have little toys for them,” Weber said.

Bread of Life also has an annual Santa shop. Many of the families don’t have the means to buy a lot of gifts for Christmas, so people donate all kinds of toys. Families can come in and pick gifts they want for their children. Alexis wants to make a big impact on these families’ lives. For her, food is not enough, she really tries to provide anything the families need. 

“We know these people. Most of these people have been with us for a long time. You talk to them, see how they’re doing. It’s not just ‘come in, hurry, and shop.’”

Since building relationships is such a big part of the goal, the government shutdown was so hard because Weber was doing all she could to help these families she cares so deeply for, but the demand was so high.  

“This has been the second hardest thing and I’m more angry about this. COVID was just something that happened. That’s nature, but this was man-made,” Weber said.

Weber has been at Bead of Life for twelve years, and this is the worst crisis she has ever seen, second only to the pandemic. During the government shutdown, 42 million people nationwide lost access to SNAP benefits. With no money to go shopping, food banks were in high demand.

Bread of Life covers a wide area, supporting families in Shaler, Etna, Millvale, and Reserve. They buy some food with money from their grants and donations, but donating food is also a huge help, which is why the food drive at Shaler Area High School is so impactful.

The government is back up and running and SNAP benefits have been resumed, but many families may start to lose their benefits over the next few years because of new eligibility rules. Food banks do so much to help families stay on their feet. This year, thanks to everyone’s help, Bread of Life is able to serve 150 families a Thanksgiving meal, including a turkey. 

“No person that walks in here leaves without food,” Weber said.

If you are interested in learning more about Bread of Life or would like to make a donation, that information can be found on the Bread of Life website.