Founder’s Day of Caring with 28/22 News

PITTSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Meet Linda Ravert. Born and raised in Edwardsville Luzerne County, Linda spent her life caring for others in hospice and home health. Now retired, she has a new passion.

“I have three grandsons, which is great, and one princess, a great-granddaughter, and I just became a great-great-grandmother.”

Additionally, Linda has been a volunteer with CEO for more than two decades.

“At the food pantry, I would sign the people in and direct them to where they need to go.”

After losing her husband, an army veteran two years ago, Linda was in need of some help of her own. She knew exactly where to turn: CEO’s commodity supplemental food program.

“There for a while, I was struggling and this box helped me many times.”

The program serves just over two thousand senior citizens in Luzerne, Lackawanna, Wyoming, and Susquehanna counties.

Recipients can pick up their boxes or have them delivered.

Commodity supplemental food program staff member Billy Golightly says, over the past few months, they’ve seen the need for their services go up.

“There’s a lot of good nutritional items that are in the box for them,” says Billy Golightly.

With items like canned fruits, vegetables, pasta, a list of recipes and more, the monthly kit provides people with valuable tools to put meals on the table.

“There is starting to be a big increase.”

An increased need means an increased number of boxes to pack. It’s a process that gets pushed along with the help of volunteers, like those of us here at 28/22 News.

“The volunteers, they are the backbone of the senior food box packing.”

Golightly says the efforts of volunteers make a big difference in the community.

“The impact of that one pallet that’s 40 boxes, that are going out that’s 40 people that are getting this food box that they are helping.”

Volunteers help people like Linda, a recipient and volunteer herself, who knows firsthand the good that giving back can do.

“They mean everything to this program.”

To donate to the food bank, you can visit our donation link here .

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