Brookline Food Pantry Serving More Families

Patricia Erny works on the front lines of the battle against hunger.

As director of the Brookline Christian Food Pantry, she sees the toll the recession has taken on families. More Brookline and Dormont residents than ever are turning to the pantry for help.

The pantry, located in , provides food to more than 140 families.

“We’ve had about 10 or 12 new families signing up every month,” Erny said. “Some months it’s been as many as 20.”

The pantry is a member of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and has been serving Brookline and Dormont for more than 27 years.

Other pantries are also seeing increased demand, said Charlize McKinney, agency relations director for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

McKinney oversees more than 200 distribution sites in Allegheny County. She said the increased use of programs such as the Brookline pantry reflects what is happening in the Pittsburgh region.

“We’re averaging 1,400 new families a month in Allegheny County,” she said.

To increase awareness about local need, the GPCFB launched the “Get Help. Give Help.” publicity campaign last year.

The campaign seems to be working.

Along with the increase in people seeking help, donations are up, McKinney said.

 “People have really stepped up to help the community,” McKinney said. “Especially with cash donations.”

The Brookline pantry also receives donations from Boy Scouts of America and the U.S. Postal Service, as well as baked goods from Giant Eagle and Einstein Bros. locations and non-perishable items collected by local churches and elementary schools.

But according to longtime volunteer Karen Stuart, the community itself is what make the Brookline pantry special.

“When you come out on a Saturday morning (during distribution), there are anywhere from 50 to 60 volunteers here,” said Stuart, a retired teacher. “It’s a great group. Everybody has the same mentality, which is: ‘We want to give back.’”

And it’s doing so beyond food.

The pantry is often able to offer school supplies, toilet paper, diapers and baby food to needy families. Occasionally, Animal Friends, an animal resource center, donates pet food.

Families who use the Brookline pantry are also given access to a clothing bank. And each year, the pantry hosts a holiday toy drive.

“We even had someone donate 60 boxes of Valentine's for the kids last month,” Stuart said, with a smile.

“We have a lot of seniors coming in and single moms,” said Stuart. “But really we see a little bit of everything. A lot of recently unemployed people. And some who are just moving into the area and haven’t found a job yet.”

 “We’re there to help people as much as we can,” Erny said. “A lot of people don’t have family to fall back on in hard times.”

Brookline Christian Food Pantry distributes food from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the second Saturday of the month at Brookline Boulevard United Presbyterian Church, 1036 Brookline Boulevard. The next distribution day is March 12.

Residents who need more information or would like to request emergency food can contact Patricia Erny at (412) 344-8451.