The West End Food Pantry would like to give the public an opportunity to see how they operate by holding an open house this Friday evening.

The pantry has been feeding the hungry in parts of Monroe and Carbon County for three years and has grown to feed more than 300 people every two weeks. Located in the old Eldred Elementary School at 516 Kunkletown Road, the pantry will be opening its doors Friday night so that members of the general public can experience what it is like for a family to visit the pantry.

“The pantry will be set up for Saturday’s distribution so the people who come to visit will have an opportunity to get a real feel for what goes on during a regular distribution,” said pantry Director Karena Thek. “We are very proud of our pantry and the fact that we as a ‘choice pantry’ are able to allow our clients to choose what food, meat and vegetables that they want, rather than their having to take the food that is given regardless of their personal taste or health needs.”

The pantry is a donation-only pantry, and as such, no organization or governing body dictates how the food is distributed, so families are able to “shop” the pantry.

Typically clients arrive at the pantry, wait their turn to register and are given a shopping cart. They then follow a route through the pantry, selecting from the foods available for distribution.

Each distribution varies depending on the foods that are available to the pantry. Thek and her crew of hardworking volunteers work diligently to make sure that there is a variety of items and fresh produce available for the clients to choose from.

“We try to make sure there are fresh foods available as well as dry goods and canned items,” Thek said. “We have been lucky, and the Pleasant Valley school students have done a number of food drives in the past two years to help us stock up on certain items.”

Since last year, the Pleasant Valley students have collected cans of tuna, boxes of cereal and most recently boxes and boxes of macaroni and cheese.

The open house will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. this Friday. The Eldred Township Thrift Store will also be open for shopping during the open house.

The pantry has one more fundraiser planned for this year. On the weekend of Dec. 7, the food pantry truck will be parked at County Harvest in Palmerton for a “Stuff the Truck” event. The truck will be available to collect food items through Dec. 9.

The pantry will collect nonperishable items to help its families get through the holiday season.