You can help keep bellies full this Thanksgiving by donating to the Ambler YMCA's Thanksgiving Food Donation Drive. (Credit: Ana Maltez / Unsplash.com)
Ambler Y's departments are competing for a good cause this holiday season.
There should be no time ever in which going hungry is acceptable, but it is especially difficult for those struggling around the holiday season.
However, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Household Food Insecurity in the United States” annual report, this is a reality for 47 million people in the country face hunger. One in five of those is a child.
The Ambler YMCA is hoping to do something about that on a local level. With the Thanksgiving Food Donation Drive, the branch is focusing efforts to remind us all that, while we may have plenty to be thankful for, not everyone has even the most basic of human needs, including food.
Donated nonperishable and canned foods will be given to families in need within Family Promise, which distributes packages to families in need during the holiday season. Family Promise, formerly known as the Inter-Faith Housing Alliance, has been serving the communities of Montgomery County for more than 40 years. From assisting the county’s 350 individuals living in the county’s emergency shelters, transitional housing sites, or the outdoors (as estimated in 2023 studies), to ensuring the estimated 10,350 children “not getting enough to eat” (according to its Feeding America 2021 study), the nonprofit works in conjunction with area religious facilities to get the job done.
Family Promise Montco PA operates both a housing program (located at 31 S. Spring Garden St., in Ambler) and a food pantry (2801 Woodland Road, in Roslyn) year-round. But around the holidays, the organization could always use a helping hand. For the Ambler YMCA's collection, specific local families have been designated by Family Promise to receive the goods.
The Ambler YMCA’s staff, which of course is excited to help those experiencing poverty, homelessness, and hunger, have also added a layer of “friendly competition” to its Food Drive.
“Each of our YMCA departments will be competing for the most number of donations,” said the Y’s announcement. “Place your donated items into one of the color-coded bins to help your favorite department earn the top prize.”
And, since it can be difficult to know what is most needed, the Y has even put together a list of the most helpful contributions you can make. Those items include:
All donations can be brought into the collection bins of the Ambler YMCA’s lobby. The collection will run from Nov. 16 to 24.
If you cannot contribute to the Ambler YMCA, there are other ways to give to those in need. To learn more about the Family Promise and its Food Pantry, based in Roslyn, visit the website at https://www.fpmontco.org/what-we-do/food-pantry/. The pantry is located on the campus of the Salem Baptist Church of Abington. The food pantry has distribution hours on Mondays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Food or donations can be dropped off at the food pantry on Wednesday, Thursday, or Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information about a food drive, scheduling a large delivery, or to volunteer at the pantry, email food@fpmontco.org or call 267-318-0607.
For more on the Ambler-based housing assistance program, visit https://www.fpmontco.org/what-we-do/support-services/.
The Ambler YMCA is located at 1325 McKean Road in Ambler. For more information on its food drive or other programs, call 215-628-9950. The YMCA lobby is open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Monday through Thursdays, closing at 9 p.m. on Fridays. The YMCA in Ambler is also open on weekends from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. A membership is not required to contribute to the YMCA food drive.
