The past year has been a trying one for the Columbia Food Bank, but the organization has never wavered in its support of the community, said Danielle Peters, director.

"This is a year when everybody is in need," she remarked. "We're seeing people who have never been to a food bank in their life. We want people to know, if you come to our door, no matter where you're from, you're going to walk out with groceries."

The Columbia Food Bank operates out of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 340 Locust St. It is open 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

"Clients can come to us once a month," Peters said, noting that an ID is all that is needed to receive food. "We prepack the groceries for them, and we give people everything they would receive at the grocery store - breakfast foods, lunch foods, dinner foods, snacks. We're fortunate to be able to supply meat, cheese, butter and eggs as well."

The food bank serves mostly the Columbia, Mountville, West Hempfield, Manor Township and Washington Boro areas, although Peters said clients have come from all over central Pennsylvania. She noted that in 2019, the food bank gave away approximately 66,000 pounds of food, while in 2020, that number grew to 70,000 pounds.

The organization is a nonprofit and receives its support through food and monetary donations from the community. This past year, food donations were down due to closings of offices and other businesses that might normally hold food drives, Peters noted.

"We're community supported, and because people are so generous, our money donations went up this past year," she said. "The issue became trying to find places to buy food, because many of the stores and agencies we purchase from were going through their own shortages. Even with all that going on, though, God is good. Nobody ever went away without food."

The organization uses monetary donations to purchase food, including perishable items since those are typically not donated and because the food bank has little storage space to keep things long-term.

"We are constantly replenishing our supply," she explained, adding that in 2019, the organization purchased 20,357 pounds of food. "In 2020, we had to buy 27,234 pounds of food."

She said the generosity of the community has allowed the food bank to continue to serve the public, even when the organization has endured additional challenges. The church that houses the food bank has faced some building issues, and it's likely the organization will need to find a new home in the future, Peters noted.

But thanks to community support and a team of volunteers, the food bank continues to serve anyone who needs it.

"When you need help, you need help. There's no shame in that," Peters said. "If you were baking a cake and you needed an egg, wouldn't you go next door to a neighbor and ask for one? We like to think of ourselves as that neighbor. We are here for you. When you walk in the door, we are here for you."

For more information on the Columbia Food Bank, readers may visit https://columbiafoodbank.org.