As Western Pennsylvania communities rev up the fryers for Lenten season fish fries, many churches and organizations have expanded their menus beyond the cod.

Last year, during the first Friday of Lent, Kristen Jones said Lloydsville Volunteer Fire Department in Unity served 2,000 meals, using about 1,500 buns.

Though the department offers a traditional fried fish sandwich, it also serves an array of meals including shrimp, pierogis and chicken fingers. But the star of the show might be the “Tanker.”

A Lenten Primanti Bros.-like sandwich, the Tanker features beer-battered fish, fries and coleslaw between two buns. It is a popular lunch item, Jones said, among local factory workers.

“Everyone who is local, we do have a good reputation for having a pretty good dinner,” said Jones, the co-chair of the fish fry committee.

In addition to her organizing duties, Jones said she is responsible for making the fish fry’s haluski. That process involves 40 heads of cabbage each week and almost always sells out, she said.

Mount St. Peter Church in New Kensington adds a more Italian touch to Lent. The primarily Italian-American congregation serves dishes such as pasta aglio e olio, a garlic-and-oil-based spaghetti meal. But for kids, the church can also whip up buttered noodles.

Roseanne Tronka, one of the fry’s organizers, said she particularly enjoys the event’s pasta e fagioli, a bean and pasta soup. Typically, Tronka said, her parish sees hundreds of customers each Friday. Last year, Mount St. Peter served nearly 900 pieces of cod in addition to hundreds of pasta meals during its first day, she said.

The church’s volunteer group, which ranges from 8-year-olds to 80-year-olds, draws in crowds from much of the surrounding area, Tronka said.

Unlike many of her fellow parishioners, Tronka is not Italian, but she said she looks forward to Lent as a time to enjoy the culture’s food. During her first year running the fry, Tronka said, she is feeling the pressure of upholding a decades-long tradition at Mount St. Peter.

“I’m hoping it’s a success,” she said. “We’re all praying it’s a success.”

Just across the Allegheny River, Robert Stoebener said Highland Hose Volunteer Fire Company in Tarentum is adding a lunch period from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. for the first time in the company’s history.

Though diners can only expect fish and fries at lunch, Stoebener said that, come dinnertime, Highland Hose will be slinging pizzas. Equipped with a pizza chef and an oven, the company offers an eight-cut cheese pizza in addition to a pierogi pizza topped with white sauce, potatoes and cheese.

Stoebener said the pizzas, which the company began serving only a few years ago, have been a “big hit.” In fact, they often rival the fish sales, he said.

Even so, Stoebener said he prefers a fried fish sandwich and a cold beer on Fridays.

The fry, he said, helps the fire company raise the money for its operations and new equipment each year. Nearly the entire crew and even some retired members, Stoebener said, come out to volunteer during Lent.

“It’s really great to see the community come out and support the local fire departments,” he said. “For Highland Hoses, this is like our bread-and-butter fundraiser.”

In the city of Pittsburgh, a church is raising money for a different cause.

St. Stanislaus Kotska Church in the Strip District has used funds from its fish fry to fund the ongoing restoration of its stained-glass windows for several years, which are more than 125 years old.

Lacking a social space of their own, church parishioners have partnered with the Cellar on Penn, a wine bar across 21st Street, to host its Lenten fish fry. That partnership, according to the Rev. Nick Vaskov, represents a “great sign” of collaboration among the Strip community.

The Cellar, according to the church’s sacristan Derris Jeffcoat, cooks the fry’s food, while volunteers serve as a sort of front-of-house staff for visitors.

Owing to the church’s Polish heritage, the fry’s “Cod Father” dish also includes haluski, though options like capellini pasta with crabmeat vodka sauce also supplement traditional options. In addition to dinner, Jeffcoat said, parishioners bring baked goods like pie and cookies for dessert.

“It’s nice that it’s a wide variety of fare,” Jeffcoat said. “I think that has drawn a lot of people.”

At the Cellar, visitors also can indulge in various wines. The sale of some bottles — a white, rosé and red — specifically aid the church in restoring its windows, Jeffcoat said.

Also opting for a more traditional dinner feel, Erin Knizer, administrative assistant at St. Pius X parish in Mount Pleasant, said the tables are “rarely empty” on Friday in the church’s social hall.

Rather than waiting in line with a tray, Knizer said, attendees will be served a full dinner by volunteer hoppers. That dinner includes a main course, green beans, coleslaw and a bread stick — plus a dessert and a drink.

The family dinner-like setting allows a more intimate experience, Knizer said, and allows community members to share the various ways they observe Lent.

“It reflects our church environment. We break bread with the Lord every Sunday, so we’re trying to replicate that in a fish dinner,” she said.

For those craving fish closer to lunchtime, there is an option in the North Hills.

About 80 students from nine school districts will serve lunch at A.W. Beattie Career Center in McCandless from 11:30-1 p.m.

Though the technical high school originally offered a fairly standard menu, Aaron Yureck, the school’s culinary supervisor, said Beattie has since expanded its menu to cater to children and those less inclined toward cod.

Aside from fish sandwiches, diners can expect shrimp, pierogis, chicken strips, crab cakes and numerous sides.

Yureck said the school typically serves about 300 people each Friday, using the lunches as fundraisers for its culinary and pastry students to attend a cooking competition at Seven Springs in March.

“It’s a lot of people coming back year after year, and they know kind of who we are and what we do,” Yureck said.

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