Serving her hometown has become a calling for a food pantry leader from Coaldale.

Kathy Montesrin started distributing food from her front porch during the pandemic. Now she serves hundreds of people weekly, while also managing the nonprofit Coaldale Free Shop.

The next step for the nonprofit, now known as God’s Providing Hands Food Pantry is a permanent space in the borough with hopes of becoming a community fixture.

“I tend to think this is where God wants me to be, or I wouldn’t be working so hard to make sure it runs smoothly, and we get what we need for the people,” said Montesrin, the pantry’s director of operations. “It’s all about them.”

God’s Providing Hands currently holds food distributions weekly from the Coaldale Complex. The use of that space and a dedicated group of volunteers have enabled her to serve a growing number of customers. During one recent pantry they distributed 648 boxes.

The pantry doesn’t exclude anyone whether they live in Coaldale or not. Most Fridays, there is a line outside the complex waiting to get inside.

“If people come to us and they need food, we’re going to do our best to give it to them. They wouldn’t be coming if they didn’t need it,” she said.

The program’s success has given them the opportunity to expand. Montesrin is currently hard at work preparing a permanent space or the pantry. They rented a former bar and banquet hall on Second Street in the borough. With help from her daughter, Montesrin has put in long hours getting the space ready to hold food pantries. They’re currently seeking donations of chest freezers to store food.

The space is more than large enough to operate the pantry, so she hopes to open a thrift store. The store would be used to generate revenue to make the pantry sustainable.

Montesrin plans to keep the thrift shop separate from a similar nonprofit she runs, the Coaldale Free Shop. Montesrin took over operating the free shop from her porch in January, after its founder moved out of the area.

Unlike the thrift store, no money changes hands at the free shop - users pick up donated items which the need, and donate ones they don’t.

“Whatever we have is given to the public for free,” she said.

Montesrin draws motivation from her love for her hometown. Helping the town where she was raised is what keeps her going.

“I was born and raised here. I love to be able to give back to this community that means so much to me.

It helps her get through the ups and downs, which are many. The pantry is dealing with the impending end of the USDA Farmers to Families program, which is where Montesrin got the boxes she first distributed from her porch. It will likely cost the nonprofit them more money to continue offering food pantries once the program expires.

They’re working with their current distributors and trying to find new ones to find alternatives that will continue to serve their clients.

One thing that is certain is that Montesrin remains committed to helping residents from Coaldale and beyond.

“The end goal is to be permanent, to continue what we’re doing to help people. Whether the USDA program is going or not, we’re going to keep going,” she said.

God’s Providing Hands Food Pantry distributes food Fridays from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information, check out their Facebook group, or call Montesrin directly at 570-436-0024. Coaldale Free Shop also has a Facebook group.