Two area organizations are trying to make sure Carbon County's food pantries have money in their coffers.

On Thursday, Terry Whiteman of the Carbon County Central Labor Chapter, and Deb Ranck of the Summit Hill Heritage Center, announced at the county commissioners' meeting that the labor chapter was awarded a $4,000 Highmark grant for the heritage center to distribute to the food pantries.Whiteman commended the Summit Hill Heritage Center and the Shepherd House, which oversees the food pantries, and the food pantries themselves for their hard work over the years."Keep up the great work because there are a lot of unfortunate people," he said, adding that the money will be spread around to as many pantries as possible.Ranck said some nonprofits and the Panther Valley Library will benefit as well."It's a joy to be able to do this and our partnership with the labor council has been very fruitful to say the least.Stanley Haupt, executive director of Shepherd House, was also in attendance and outlined what the organization does to help needy families put food on the table.Shepherd House has nine food pantries in Carbon County and provides a three-day supply of food per family member to those who qualify under the guidelines supplied by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.He said that in January alone, Shepherd House pantries supplied 951 households with a total of 24,516 meals.The commissioners commended the groups for making sure families are getting the help they need.