Swissvale Food Bank Moving to New Location

When the need for a new food bank location occurred in the community, Pastor saw it as a perfect opportunity for his congregation to love its neighbors in an active and ongoing way.

“Of course, it should never be forgotten that we are not a social service organization, we are a church, and our mission is ultimately to be evangelical—to spread the word of our faith, and to do that because we are grounded in our faith,” Morgan said. “This is one way that we can love our neighbor and it is also part of the nature of this congregation, which is outward-oriented. We do it because of who we are.”

While the has two branches in , including and , the building Word of God was operating out of has become unsafe because of structural problems.

The need for a new space became urgent over the last two months, as the Word of God branch feeds 140 families in the area twice a month. Union Baptist feeds 80 families with its own food bank branch over the course of a month as well.

Swissvale United Methodist Church, located at 7415 Irvine St., was an attractive option to the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank because of its accessibility—it is all on one floor with no stairs—and also its space.

“The food bank was excited about the possibilities here,” Morgan said.

The goal is for the new food bank space at Swissvale UMC to open by Dec. 15, with an expanded number of families that will reach 150 served a month. They also hope to expand the monthly hours to include three different days per month.

Jerry Schneider, Swissvale UMC’s music director, has helped with the food bank plans and process.

“I brought it to the church and the church was very excited and thought it was a good opportunity for us,” Schneider said. “One of the things about our church, from the very beginning, is that we have to be very community-oriented—we have to look way outside our boundaries and do as much as we can for the community and be cognizant of their needs.”

He also said the congregation looks forward to getting involved and helping others in as many ways they can with this new outlet.

“When I mentioned the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank, this is what people were waiting for,” Schneider said. “It was a golden opportunity to do something on a grand scale.”

The church is now finalizing paper work, planning and approval before the move is complete by December.

For those interested in making a donation, Morgan said the best way to help at the moment is to send a check written out to Swissvale United Methodist Church with “food bank,” written on the memo line. It will then be designated for food.