The Shepherd House/Ebenezer Food Pantry distribution took place at Memorial Park in Jim Thorpe on Saturday.

The event is held the second Saturday of every month from 9 to 11 a.m., and is for residents of the Jim Thorpe Area School District only. Proof of residency is required.

Pamela Moore, a coordinator of the event, said that many of their donations come from Second Harvest, an organization that provides food to area food banks.

“Each of the families gets a box of frozen food items, a box of other food items, some bagged food items, and things like eggs and potatoes. Larger families get additional supplies,” Moore said.

The event is completely drive-thru, and runs like a well-oiled machine. Cars pull in to the Memorial Park from the Ninth Street entrance, where they are greeted by volunteers who check residency and the size of the family. A color-coded ticket is placed on their windshield. The cars then move forward to the first station, where the potatoes and other items are placed in the car. Then they pull forward to the second station to receive the rest of the food.

Volunteers do all the work while the drivers stay in their cars. Then the vehicle exits the park via 10th Street.

“We usually provide food to 130 to 180 families each month,” volunteer David Remmel said.

He added that Memorial Park has been very helpful for allowing them to use the facilities.

“They let us use the freezers and refrigerators, so we can offer some frozen food items and eggs, and a few other perishable goods.”

The next food distribution will be May 8, from 9 to 11 a.m. Volunteers encourage families to arrive on time. The distribution starts exactly at 9 a.m. and ends exactly at 11 a.m.