Jonestown group hosts Gobble & Give event Saturday to collect food donations

Friends of Jonestown is holding a Gobble & Give event on Saturday to collect donations for Jonestown Outreach Food Pantry.

Anyone interested in donating can bring food or monetary donations to 49 W. Market St., Jonestown, starting at 9 a.m. 

Food banks typically see increased demand around the holiday season. With November’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments paused due to the federal government shutdown, this traffic has only grown. Many local food banks have put out pleas for donations to try to keep the shelves stocked.

“There has been a definite influx in people needing to go to food pantries lately, and their shelves have been getting wiped out,” Audrey Shutter with Friends of Jonestown said. “Our initial intent was to collect specifically for Thanksgiving, but at this point, we’re taking anything anyone can provide, even toiletries if anybody has those handy and spare options for toiletries. … Our mission is to definitely stock up the JOY Pantry as much as we can.”

People who donate can also submit a child’s name to be the grand marshal of the annual tree lighting on Nov. 28 and receive the first gift of Christmas. One name will be entered for each canned good or $1 on a gift card for a local grocery store, and 10 for each turkey donation. The drawing will happen at 11:50 a.m. on Saturday.

Shutter said they will also have crafts, food trucks, and a chance to help decorate the tree while they’re collecting donations.

She said she has no expectations for how many people will attend, but Friends of Jonestown has been working on getting the word out. 

“I hope that people do come out on Saturday,” Shutter said. “We’re supposed to have decent weather, we’re going to have some kids crafts and little prizes and whatnot if they’re just coming out and hanging out with us, and then also on Saturday at the same time, we’re going to be decorating the town tree.”

For the nonprofit organization, the main objective is to support the local population.

“Our goal is community. We want to provide free events for families. We want to help out other important nonprofits as well, like the JOY Pantry,” Shutter said. “We’re just trying to tie together and get exposure for everybody.”