A food pantry with donated clothing, home furnishings, and a very special Christmas shop
The freshly mowed grass sits atop the cemetery mounds beside the Bushkill Outreach. Lawn care is the only thing the neighbors share. Bushkill Outreach serves as a distribution center for the locals in need. All donations are accepted and put to use. If they can’t sell it out of the church, there is always the flea market, eBay, or the Christmas store. Funded by a few grants and donations, the Bushkill Outreach makes due with little. Income from the flea market and eBay really keep the machine going and allow for the daily miracles.
The ripe vegetables sit outside the drop-off waiting for a needing family to pick them up and put them to use. With the sharp economic downturn came a flood of demand and donations for the Bushkill Outreach; it is running out of storage space. Six years after the flood of the previous residence, Bushkill Outreach now rests on 209 where the donation trucks can roll right up to the conveyor belt and slide down the donations for storage. Every day is a race against time as the food spoils; there is never enough fridge space to hold it all. With the curse of working too well, the Outreach is in need strong arms and hungry families. Bushkill Outreach covers Lehman Township, Pike County, and anyone in Monroe with an emergency, but it can only help those who ask. Even with unemployment at 9.7%, the food isn't flying off the shelves. Either people here haven't lost their only sources of income or Bushkill Outreach is in serious need of an advertising division. I have lived in the neighborhood since high school, and this was the first year I heard anything about what these wonderful people do.
The volunteers give up their time with little outside acknowledgment.
“This is the best job I've ever had. I love coming here in the morning and the people are the best I've ever worked with,” said one volunteer, who saw sees coworkers as companions in the fight against hunger and starvation. She carried a smile all day after a morning of charity and a free lunch courtesy of Bushkill Outreach.
Driving past the church every morning, I never gave it a second thought. Now after visiting the place, it is a morning commute highlight. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, the volunteers meet the donating trucks. The food from Wal-Mart, Pocono produce and other local contributors needs to be moved into the nine fridges sitting in the church basement. The Walk-in freezer was purchased over the summer thanks to the grants from the state and Pike County.
Rose is a pleasant woman bursting with energy and passion. The Christmas shop is her personal annual miracle. Filled to the brim with decorations and toys, it’s a major draw in the winter season. Rose likes to decorate the store completely alone; this way, no one can ruin the Christmas magic she has laid out for all the customers enjoy. Short on shelf space, there are strings that run across doors and walls to hang anything for sale with a hook.
Bushkill Outreach offers the food for free, but the deals on the clothes are even better than that. Food will be gone whether you use it or not, but with the clothes piling up almost to the rafters with donations, Bushkill Outreach is selling four dresses for as many dollars. Focusing on being able to move as much clothing out of the church before winter arrives, the volunteers overlook losing money. Much of the donated clothing comes from the Mennonites who are regular contributors and friends of Bushkill Outreach.
A NASCAR autograph rests on a tire waiting for auction sure to become the Bushkill Outreach's most bid upon item. A toy car collection that took a man his entire life to accumulate was donated by his adult son who now wants other children to play with them. Accepting everything from ornaments to food, the Bushkill Outreach offers everyone a tax break and weight off one’s shoulders.
No donation is turned away and none in need either. Contributors come from all over the region. Boy Scouts in Middle Smithfield and businesses in East Stroudsburg all support the work being done in this old church off Route 209. Monroe County has six pantries and all donations come from and go to the locals. Every week Wal-Mart and Pocono Produce contribute to the cause. Hot bagels and many other local businesses contribute less regularly and support the people working at the Bushkill Outreach. This week, Wal-Mart donated donuts and eggs the people at Pocono produce provided milk and pizza and I would like to thank them for a delicious breakfast.
A video walk-through of Bushkill Outreach.
For more information about Bushkill Outreach, to take advantage of their offerings, to volunteer, or to donate call 570-588-0660.Entering the ring at 6'3", 300 lbs., is reader, writer, and all-around amateur (sleuth) noisy man -- Philip Kiecun. Born Queens/Jackson Heights in New York City and high school-educated in East Stroudsburg Pa., Kiecun is a Pike County voter, McCain supporter and Obama voter. He calls himself “a recognized overkill artist who underwhelms.”
