Local Churches Help Distribute Food To Those In Need

Volunteers gathered at the First Baptist Church of Levittown-Fairless Hills in Bristol Township over the weekend to partake in a monthly “pack out” to help those in need.

The group, led by Patricia Mutek and Donna Puchino, packs up food that can’t be sold or held at the Amish Market on Green Lane in Bistoland gets it ready for a separate group to distribute to those in need. The group never knows what will come over from the market. Saturday was a good week: pickles, sausages, fresh produce, cakes, popcorn and more found its way into boxes for distribution.

“Being out at the camps was such an eye opener; seeing it going on in our back yard, it was like a slap in the face,” said Levittown resident Brian Almond, a volunteer and deacon at the church.

The “pack out,” which occurs at First Baptist on the fourth Saturday of each month, has the sole goal of dividing food brought from the market into  boxes for those who are in need.

Almond has been a part of the pack out for the entire three years that he has been a member of First Baptist. “It’s my way of thanking God, it’s kind of like Thanksgiving every day,” Almond said.

“It’s not much out of your day to come out and help like this,” Mutek noted.

The pastor of the congregation, Christine Holcombe, was also present for the pack out. “It’s an honor for us to be able to do this. We don’t know where this is going, we just know these people are hungry,” explained Holcombe.

The pack outs have been going on since 2009, according to Donna Puchino, one of the volunteers. Puchino is involved with all of the different churches on the food donation rotation and is present each week at all of the area pack outs.