Nonperishables sought for Derry, Franklin Regional 'souper bowl' food collections

Derry churches and a Franklin Regional elementary school are among local organizations taking part in food drives timed in conjunction with the culminating contest of the NFL season.

A Souper Bowl of Caring collection will take place noon to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Derry First United Methodist Church on North Ligonier Street in Derry Borough. Donations of nonperishable food and money will be accepted to benefit the Derry Area Food Pantry, based at the church.

The pantry is particularly low on pasta and canned soup, according to Teri Sauers, administrative assistant at the church.

In keeping with precautions for preventing the spread of covid-19, those making donations won’t have to exit their vehicles, Sauers said.

“They’ll be able to pull into our parking lot,” she said. “If they have their donation in the front seat, they can put their window down and someone will grab it. Everything is going to be outside.”

The Derry Area pantry serves more than 200 families with monthly distributions of food at the town’s A.V. Germano Hall, according to pantry coordinator Terri Forsha.

“We have about 14 families with five or more in the household,” she noted. “We used up everything I had ordered” from the Westmoreland County Food Bank near Delmont, which distributes food to more than 40 pantries throughout the county each month.

The Derry Area pantry also will benefit from nonperishable donations made by worshipers at Sunday’s 11 a.m. service at the Derry Presbyterian Church.

Forsha noted monetary donations may be made payable to Derry Area Food Pantry and mailed to 311 N. Ligonier St., Derry, PA 15627.

Area food banks and pantries were challenged more than ever last year to help those experiencing food insecurity. The covid-19 pandemic’s economic toll on many families increased the need for food assistance while some food drives were canceled or curtailed because of pandemic restrictions.

The Westmoreland County Food Bank saw the volume from food drives drop by about 100,000 pounds in 2020, compared to the previous year, according to Gina Colosimo, director of volunteers and food drives.

While some longstanding food collections weren’t held in 2020, Colosimo said, “We’ve had numerous businesses, families and neighborhoods hold food drives for us.”

One drive that hasn’t missed a beat is the annual Soup-er Bowl Challenge at Franklin Regional School District’s Newlonsburg Elementary, where about 230 students are enrolled in grades K-5.

Each year, as the NFL’s Super Bowl approaches, the school’s 12 classrooms engage in a friendly competition to see which can collect the most food, winning bragging rights and possession of a revolving trophy.

This year’s five-day challenge was to have begun on Monday but got off to a late start since all students learned remotely at home that day because of a winter storm.

In past years, Principal Tina Gillen said, the school presented its collection of soup cans directly to a local food pantry, at Murrysville’s Mother of Sorrows Church. This year, after consulting with the pantry, it will turn over donations to the county food bank.

In addition to soup, the students are looking to collect peanut butter, cereal, macaroni and cheese, boxed meals and cans of chicken, tuna, stew, ravioli, fruits and vegetables. Items in glass jars aren’t wanted, but monetary donations payable to the food bank will be accepted.

Last year, the Newlonsburg drive netted about 1,000 cans of soup.

“We usually end up doing pretty well as far as donations go,” said Gillen. “Even a small school can do its part to contribute to the community.”