Saint Stanislaus pierogi are about as Youngstown as it comes and since 1980 they've been a tradition for the south side church founded in the early 20th century.

"We had lunches on Friday from 11 to 1, it was packed down here and we sold out."

While the end of May usually marks the end of the pierogi season for Saint Stanislaus, with the decision by the diocese to close the church in the coming weeks also came the decision to end the pierogi sale permanently.

"It's like we're losing our family, there were so many people that came here and we had good times doing this and we still supported our church," says Patty Jones, a volunteer with the church.

The famous pierogi recipe passed on from one generation to the next with volunteers starting the prep work as early as Wednesday.

Each week around 6000 pierogi come out of this church, something that nets around 60,000 dollars annually sometimes even more. A key reason why this church has survived on Williamson Avenue as long as it as.

"Probably 30 or 35 years ago people were saying Saint Stanislaus was going to close because we just don't have enough parishioners, we don't have enough money and so on and so forth. Pierogi extended our life probably until this point," says Deacon Michael Schlais.

The hope is that another Valley church will pick up the pierogi sale and continue a Youngstown tradition for the next 40 years.