Sons of Legion donate to Summit Hill pantry

At least 100 Summit Hill families in need will have a bountiful Thanksgiving table this year.

The Sons of American Legion Post 316, Summit Hill, recently donated $2,000 to the borough’s food pantry to help local families celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday.

The money will be used to purchase approximately 100 frozen turkeys, which will be distributed by the pantry.

The Sons have been donating money for frozen turkeys on Thanksgiving since the 1990s and according to Joe Zubek, SAL finance officer, this donation brings the total given to the pantry by the Sons to $23,880.

The food pantry receives a lot of help from borough organizations, such as the legion, as well as area residents.

Zubek said the donation is the organization’s annual community project and is happy that the members can do it annually.

“When someone is in need, they may not want to ask for help, but giving this money so people can have a happy Thanksgiving is the least we can do for our neighbors,” he said. “As long as we can afford it, a contribution to the pantry will be made annually.”

Rose Marie Armon, director of the Summit Hill Food Pantry, called the Sons donations a Godsend.

To raise the money for this donation, the group holds various fundraisers throughout the year.

When the Thanksgiving program began two decades ago, 55 families received food packages for Thanksgiving. But rising food costs and tough economic times have pushed the number of families in need up.

The Summit Hill Food Pantry is a division of Shepherd House, an entity that contracts with government agencies to receive state and federal funding to help the needy. Shepherd House provides some nonperishable food items, but the majority of food distributed in the borough is donated by Summit Hill residents.