WAYNESBORO – The holiday season may be over, but the spirit of giving still shines brightly with the help of the Five Forks BIC Food Pantry. The non-profit organization is located on Five Forks Road has been providing food for the local community since 1991 when it started as an outreach ministry in the basement of the Five Forks Church.
The pantry provides the essentials such as canned soups, fruits and vegetables, starches such as pasta and potatoes, canned chicken and tuna, cereal and peanut butter. When provided to the pantry inventory, they also have eggs, frozen meals, butter, cheese, frozen meats, bread, deli meats and packages of salad. They also occasionally have snack items and desserts.
Five Forks collaborates with the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, another local non-profit organization, to keep its inventory stocked and fresh. Every two weeks the food pantry purchases items and also receives donations from local businesses like Aldi, Dollar General, Martin’s, Save A Lot, Klines and many more.
It truly is a community effort to bring food to the families that need it. There are also food drives provided from community partners such as Otterbein Church and the Waynesboro Middle School that add to the inventory each year.
Pastor Ray Kipe shared some background behind the program. “Two couples in the congregation had a heart for the hungry in our community, so they proposed the idea and recruited a number of volunteers to work alongside them.”
Pastor Kipe also shared some numbers with this reporter on just how many families the food pantry serves.
“In 2024, the yearly average was 278 families, over 800 individuals, and in 2025, that average number went up to 331 families, over 950 individuals.”
When asked about the impact that inflation and recent government cuts have made on the food pantry, the pastor noted that in the months of November and December, when the government cuts hit, the food pantry served 375 and 399 families respectfully. With those high monthly numbers, one can only imagine what the 2026 yearly average will look like.
The Five Forks Food Pantry is a family affair with many volunteering their time and efforts to keep the community fed. Whether it is stocking the pantry, picking up and delivering food, or bagging the groceries, the approximately 75-80 volunteers are happy to give their time to this amazing cause.
Readers interested in volunteering at the church may contact them through its website at: Food Pantry – Five Forks Church or by contacting the church office at: 717-762-2991.
The Five Forks Food Pantry is located at 9244 Five Forks Road. The hours of operation are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12-1:30 p.m. and Wednesday evening from 6-7 p.m.
