Penn Liberty's Limerick branch

LIMERICK PA – The Limerick PA branch of Penn Liberty Bank, 543 N. Lewis Rd., is among the newest locations announced as drop-off points for the “Fill The Media Lab” campaign to benefit local food pantries, conducted across western Montgomery, northern Chester and eastern Berks counties by area blogging authors, news sites like The Sanatoga Post and The Post Publications, and The (Pottstown PA) Mercury.

Those who read and enjoy the content of websites and blogs participating in the food drive are being asked to collect and donate food items for a lengthy list of pantries, where the needs of economically squeezed families are outstripping available supplies. The campaign hopes to collect and distribute 20,000 food items, and another 1,000 bottle of laundry detergent, before April 7 (2012), the weekend of Passover and Easter.

“We’d love to be a part of your efforts to collect canned goods in the community, and have our totals count to your goal of 20,000,” bank Assistant Vice President Tom Thunstrom wrote. Organizers say they’re happy to have his help, too!

Readers likely will readily recognize Thunstrom’s name. Beyond being active in the financial dealings of Limerick Township businesses, Thunstrom also is well-known for his involvement in a variety of community projects, and as a weather forecaster to whom professionals in that business sometimes look for help.

The bank’s Easter food drive to benefit the Project Outreach pantry in Royersford launched last week (March 5, 2012) and continues through April 6 (Friday). If you live in or pass through Limerick (on your way to or from work, maybe?), it would be easy to leave your food donations at the bank’s indoor collection point.

For the bank’s business hours, call 610-535-4881.

Phoenixville Rises To Meet The Food Challenge

Blogger Sarah Peppel

Just a little farther east of Penn Liberty’s location, a Phoenixville PA-based blogger who is known there as the Queen Of Frugality has added new drop-off sites too.

Among people who like to save money in buying food, clothing and anything else, “DIY Frugal” by blogger Sarah Peppel has become “must” reading, her fans say. Peppel makes it her mission to catalog various community and internet specials that will genuinely save readers cash on items they really want, and then reports them almost daily on DIY Frugal with the help of co-editor Alison Shaffer.

Peppel’s developed quite a following, and when she heard of the pantries’ campaign she marshaled her readers for assistance. She’s made arrangements with four Phoenixville locations to serve as drop-off points for donations:

• Foresta’s Country Market, 1098 W. Bridge St., has agreed to collect both food and laundry detergent;
• Phoenixville YMCA, 400 E. Pothouse Rd., is helping to collect detergent only;
• Pro Nails, in the Shoppes at Valley Forge on Schuylkill Road (near the Staples and Redner’s stores) will accept all contributions; and so too will
• St. Peter’s Episcopal Church food pantry, 121 Church St.

Thanks to Peppel, Shaffer and their generous readers and merchants, Phoenixville is well-represented in this fight-against-hunger effort.

Related:

• Pantries Get Help From Limerick, Phoenixville, Pottstown (Sanatoga Post)
• Pottstown Mercury engages bloggers in community food drive (The Steve Buttry Diary)
• Pinterest Board: Food (Bob Garrett)
• St. Aloysius joins Fill the Media Lab food drive (The Mercury)
• Area food drive picking up speed (Positively Pottstown)
• Sanatoga’s Zuber Realty Joins The Food Pantries’ Fight (Sanatoga Post)
• Communities Coming Together To Give Back (So Much To Do, So Little Time)
• POVERTY: Food for Thought (Agitator In Chief)
• They’ll Give You the Food on Your Back (Digital Notebook)
• Fill the Media Lab Food Drive (Yoga Wisdom For Every Day)
• Help Struggling Food Banks / Open Door Ministry (Cooking Creation)
• S-H-A-R-E (Roots Of Revitalization)
• Manna on Main Street (News From Zion’s)
• Help Out The North Coventry Food Pantry (52 Ways To Wake Up A Week)
• Chloe and Belle Added TWO More Dropoff Sites (Tails Of 2 Dogs)
• Got Goodies For The Food Pantries? Drop ‘Em Off Here (Sanatoga Post)
• Food collection challenge takes off (The Mercury)
• Belle and Chloe Added New Donation Dropoff Locations! (Tails Of 2 Dogs)
• Belle and Chloe NEED Your Help! (Tails Of 2 Dogs)
• Positively Pottstown joins “Fill the Media Lab” food drive (Positively Pottstown)
• Updated Dropoff List for Fill Our Media Lab (Tails Of 2 Dogs)
• Pinterest Board: Fill The Media Lab (The Mercury)
• Good Thing, Small Package: Food Drive Gets $50 Start (Sanatoga Post)
• ‘Fill the Media Lab:’ A local effort to fight hunger (The Mercury)
• Posts, Mercury, Bloggers Unite To Fight Local Hunger (Sanatoga Post)
• Join our challenge to ‘fill the Media Lab’ and help local food pantries (The Mercury)

Photos from Penn Liberty Bank, DIY Frugal