HERMITAGE, Pa. - A new safety net is now in place for Mercer County families who find themselves in a food emergency after normal pantry hours end.

The Mercer County Food Bank and Grace Chapel Community Church held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the opening of Mercer County’s first emergency food pantry, located at 4075 Lamor Road in Hermitage.

Leaders say the pantry is designed to work as a one-time, short-term resource offering enough food to help a household make it through a critical window of need until they can be connected to a traditional pantry with regular distribution hours.

Grace Chapel Lead Pastor Aaron Lego said the goal is simple: be available when other options aren’t.

“So what we are providing here is when the normal operating hours of the food bank are are closed or there’s other services in the community that are not available at the time, we supplement or assist the Mercer County Food Bank in allowing people to come here to receive those food needs, to carry them through the evening, through the day, or until the next location opens back up,” Lego said.

The pantry operates weekly, but hours vary from week to week based on church activities and staffing. Lego said that flexibility is part of what makes the model work.

“Being a community church like we are, we have groups, we have events, we have a child care center going here, and so there’s a lot of opportunity for us to meet the needs of the community that other organizations simply can’t because of our hours, seven days a week,” he said.

Both the food bank and Grace Chapel emphasized that neighbors must begin the process through the Mercer County Food Bank, not by walking in.

“Right now, somebody would reach out to the Mercer County Food Bank and request a need and then we work with those individuals to bring them in here and based on their size of the family and their needs, we can fulfill the emergency food needs that they need to get through that evening, that day or that weekend,” Lego said.

He added: “Everyone needs to go through the food bank first, and then the food bank reaches out to us and lets us know that there’s a need, and then we can fulfill that need appropriately.”

MCFB’s Director of Development Alexis Spence-Locke said the screening process helps staff connect people to the best available option, whether that’s a traditional pantry that’s open or an emergency pantry like this one.

“If someone finds themself in an emergency food situation, what we’ll do is first, we’ll see if there’s a pantry that has traditional hours…If we have no pantry that’s in operation that day, we will then check one of our emergency pantries, like Grace Chapel. And then we’ll connect the neighbor to the pantry to make sure that their family receives food,” she said.

The emergency pantry is designed to look and function like a traditional pantry with options that meet real household needs.

People can choose from shelf-stable items, and when available, fresh produce and meat, along with other staples.

“If you were to go to a traditional pantry, that’s what you’re going to see, you’re going to see dry goods, you’re going to see meat, you’re going to see dairy, you’re going to see fresh produce,” Spence-Locke said. “It’s the things that families need again, to thrive.”

While the Mercer County Food Bank has partnered with a handful of emergency food pantry sites across the county, Spence-Locke said this location marks an important first.

“This is the very first one in the city of Hermitage,” she said. “That’s huge and I have to include that this isn’t only for neighbors who live in Hermitage, it’s for anyone throughout the county.”

She noted that until recently, food access inside Hermitage had been limited.

“Up until last year, we didn’t even have a food pantry in the city of Hermitage,” she said.

Lego said the pantry has been operating quietly for months as a trial run to ensure communication, scheduling, and the flow of assistance met the food bank’s standards for emergency services.

“We’ve been operating for a couple months now on a trial basis, just to make sure the process, the flow of communication, and the response to the families is going as needed,” he said.

“It’s been going really well. We’ve been seeing several families each week,” Lego added. “The needs are not great yet, but it’s nice to know that they’re here and things are going really well.”

Spence-Locke described emergency pantries as a key part of a broader network, filling in the gaps so families aren’t left without options.

“Emergency food pantries are extremely vital to the work that we do,” she said. “They’re there, our bridge makers filling the gaps. It means that families have food on the table for them, their children, their parents. It means no one’s going hungry.”

She stressed that it takes teamwork to make the system function including volunteers who answer calls, screen needs, and help coordinate connections.

“Many hands make light work,” Spence-Locke said. “It’s the staff internally, but it’s also our volunteers. Without volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to field the calls to get to the food that they need.”

If you or your family needs emergency food assistance, call the Mercer County Food Bank to begin the intake and scheduling process. Because hours vary weekly at the emergency pantry, MCFB will confirm availability and connect families to the appropriate site.

Mercer County Food Bank: 724-981-0353
Ask for: Bailey Shepard, ext. 105

Spence-Locke said the need remains significant in Mercer County.

“There are over 16,000 neighbors and 4,600 children who are food insecure in Mercer County,” she said, “and we are doing the work to make sure that no neighbor is going to bed wondering where their next meal will come from.”