“Salute to veterans today,” she bellows, blue stars and streamers orbit her shock white hair from a spring loaded headband. 

“You wore that for the Fourth of July and Labor Day,” teased the driver as he lowered a mechanical platform stacked high with boxes of pasta, canned goods, and juice. 

One by one volunteers like Pam would flock to the popup pantry - a once monthly distribution supported by the local food bank - CEO Weinberg - and the generous donations of time and goods by those local to Jenkins Township, PA. 

“We help a lot of people-  usually 500 a month. We help all of Luzerne County,” says Careen Pourmonir as she mills about folding tables piled high with dry goods, bottled water, juice, frozen pork, and today - mangoes. 

Careen is the CEO of Clubhouse Econo-Rhinovations - the non-profit responsible for spearheading the food distribution.

These days, she finds herself scrambling to fill the hungry bellies that roll up to the Jenkins Township Fire Hall, and with winter on her heels and COVID still rampant, the odds are stacked against her. 

“We do not have a facility, we don’t have refrigeration, we don’t have storage … so I really depend on the volunteers and the support of the community,” she says of the outdoor-only outfit that operates through all four of Pennsylvania’s capricious seasons.

Since Al Beech closed, Luzerne County pantries - like the one at Jenkins Township Fire Hall - are struggling to shoulder an influx of guests in search of food; and for the first time in 3 years Pam has to tell people that they’re too late; moreover the distribution only happens on the first Friday of every month. If people miss it, they’re out of luck for the next 30 days. 

“Oooh, I have to tell these people that there’s no food.”

She cringes - red, white, and blue streamers trailing as she saddles up to the silver SUV rounding a corner before saying,

“Ma’am we have no food.” A tearful exchange plays out before Pam rallies volunteers to stock the car with extra water, potatoes, and sweet potatoes - the dredges of the pantry’s bounty; and food that -although filling and nutrient dense - is problematic for those who don’t have access to a microwave or an oven for cooking them. It’s a situation many guests contend with. 

Pam's lifeblood is the mantra “the need to be needed.” In her Al Beech volunteering days, she’d push around the ‘hydration station’ - a cart stocked with cold drinks and snacks - making sure volunteers working long hours on blacktop were hydrated, fed, and slathered in sunscreen. So for her, coming up short for those driving through the pantry is akin to heartbreak. 

To safeguard the community from a repeat of the November distribution, Careen called on her loyal volunteers to come out for a second week in December. 

“How do I appreciate people who give so much of themselves, it’s just incredible. They’ll spend their whole time here, and when I ask them, ‘Are you sure you want to do another day, they don’t hesitate, they say ‘yep I’ll be here.’”