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UDC PA Grant Nurtures Care Cabin Food Pantry in Lackawaxen Township
NARROWSBURG – The Upper Delaware Council (UDC) contributed $14,847.18 to Lackawaxen Township on December 21 to support The Care Cabin in its mission to provide food for those in need.
The funding came out of the $100,000 “Townships, Technology & Sustainability” grant that Pennsylvania Representatives Jonathan Fritz (111th District), Rep. Mike Peifer (139th District), and Senator Lisa Baker (20th District) secured for the UDC in 2019.
The PA Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) is administering the UDC’s grant contract that runs through December 31, 2021.
Initiated through fundraising efforts and operated by Growing Lackawaxen, Inc. (GL), The Care Cabin was constructed as a 24’ by 32’ structure on township property at 169 Urban Road, Hawley, PA and opened in September of 2019.
The non-profit GL partners with Second Harvest and the Emergency Food Assistance Program operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Food Distribution to serve Lackawaxen residents and the greater community.
More than 75% of Lackawaxen Township’s children enrolled in the Wallenpaupack Area School District qualify for free or reduced lunches. In its first three months, The Care Cabin fed 14 local families, which quickly increased to 30, then to 52 by November.
The township promotes the food pantry’s availability through its Facebook page, bi-annual newsletter, and its community and business networks.
In addition to allocating $20,000 to help build the facility, the Lackawaxen Township Board of Supervisors assisted Growing Lackawaxen, Inc. to meet its fundraising gap debt for the construction and to purchase needed equipment and furnishings, including folding tables, shelving, a freezer, air conditioning unit, canopy tent, portable hand-washing station, desk, laptop computer, printer, ladder, trash can, and broom.
Lackawaxen is the third of the Council’s five PA local government members to complete their projects based on the UDC’s approval of their community need proposals.
Prior grants supported Westfall Township ($12,123.09 for municipal building parking lot renovations and paving) and Shohola Township ($15,000 towards the township building’s new roof). Damascus and Berlin Township project completions are pending.
For more information on the UDC and its activities, visit www.upperdelawarecouncil.org or its social media pages, or call the Narrowsburg, NY office at (845) 252-3022.