Food pantry volunteering at the New Love Center, McElhattan

The New Love Center runs the food pantry that feeds families in McElhattan, Avis, and Woolrich. Twice a month the pantry needs people to sort deliveries, pack boxes, and hand food to neighbors who come through the door. If you have a free Friday morning, that is most of what the job asks. Behind those Fridays sits a nonprofit that reached more than 35,000 people across Clinton and Lycoming counties in 2023, and it runs mostly on volunteers.

What does the New Love Center food pantry do?

The New Love Center food pantry collects food and gives it out to households in McElhattan, Avis, and Woolrich. Distributions happen on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month, from 9 a.m. to noon and again from 1 to 3 p.m. Guests bring an ID for proof of residence, and that is the whole entry requirement. Volunteers keep those hours running. Some sort what comes in off the truck. Others pack it into boxes or bags. A few work the front, greeting people and carrying food out.

The work is steady and it is local. The families who show up on a Friday are from around here, and the folks handing food over are usually neighbors too. The scale is bigger than one town, though. In a single month in the fall of 2025, the center's pantry and mobile routes together reached 2,007 people.

Who is behind the pantry?

The New Love Center started on October 1, 2014, after the American Rescue Workers closed their Allegheny Street facility in Jersey Shore and a group of local people decided the food ministry should keep going. It is now headquartered on Henry Street in South Avis, a few minutes from McElhattan, and its service area covers towns on both sides of the county line: McElhattan, Avis, Woolrich, and Lock Haven in Clinton County, plus Jersey Shore, Linden, and a string of villages up Pine Creek in Lycoming.

The Friday pantry is one piece of a longer list. The center's Pantry Choice room in South Avis is set up like a small grocery store, where clients pick their own food off the shelves and a new client only needs to bring an ID. A free cafe at Trinity United Methodist Church in Jersey Shore serves lunch every weekday. A mobile pantry carries food to seven distribution sites and averages about 350 households a month. Seniors over 60 can get supplemental boxes, veterans get a monthly box through American Legion Post 36, and a backpack program sends more than 200 bags of food home with school kids every Friday.

Demand has climbed fast. The center served 15,580 people in 2022 and 35,672 in 2023, more than double, and volunteers put in 800 to 1,000 hours in a typical month to keep up. In 2018 the whole operation ran on volunteers plus one part-time cook, and it has not strayed far from that model since.

What do food pantry volunteers actually do?

Three things, mostly: sort, pack, and hand out. Deliveries arrive and someone has to check them, split them by type, and set aside anything past date. Then the food gets packed so a family can carry a full box in one trip. On distribution days, volunteers greet guests, help load cars, and keep the line moving during the two windows the pantry is open. When the center listed its volunteer needs in the fall of 2025, the jobs were exactly that plain: stocking shelves, greeting guests, and helping at mobile distributions, with flexible hours.

None of it takes special training. If you can lift a box of canned goods and count to twelve, you can help. The pantry will show you where things go on your first shift. Come back when you can, whether that is every distribution or once in a while.

Pathway to Christ church in the area runs a food-bank packing program too, so if the pantry's Friday hours do not fit your schedule, packing shifts are another way in. Both feed the same broad effort against hunger in this corner of the county. The Pantry Choice room in South Avis also keeps weekday and Saturday hours, on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, Thursday afternoons, and Saturday mornings, so if your Fridays are spoken for, ask about a slot there instead.

Who is this a good fit for?

Anyone with a couple free hours and a willingness to be on their feet. Retirees fill a lot of these shifts because the pantry runs on weekday mornings, but the work suits students, parents with school-age kids, and people fulfilling court-ordered or school service hours just as well. Groups work too. A church group, a scout troop, or a handful of coworkers can take a packing shift together.

The pantry is a good starting point if you have never volunteered before. The task is clear, the shift has a start and an end, and you see exactly who your work helped.

How do I sign up to volunteer?

Contact the New Love Center directly and ask about volunteering at the pantry that serves McElhattan. The main number is 570-244-8838 and the email is info@thenewlovecenter.com. Tell them roughly when you are free and whether you want to sort, pack, or work distribution. They will fit you into a Friday. Volunteer Clinton County is a free directory, so we point you to the org and let you take it from there. We do not match or place anyone.

One more number worth saving even if you never take a shift: the center runs an emergency food line at 570-772-3275. Executive director Holly Beaver told The Express in October 2025 that a family in need of food assistance should start by simply reaching out.

You can also check our current openings to see what other groups nearby need help with right now, and browse volunteer opportunities in McElhattan on the town's page. Food isn't the only need around here. For the wider picture, read our full McElhattan volunteering guide, which also covers the fire company and township park.

What if I want to help beyond McElhattan?

Pantries across the county run on the same kind of help, so what you learn at the New Love Center carries over. The center's own mobile pantry is the clearest example. It now runs seven distribution sites, and the newest opened at Beech Creek Wesleyan Church in January 2026 with fifteen church volunteers working the first distribution. Other routes reach Lock Haven and Renovo. Those runs need loaders and greeters the same way the Friday pantry does.

Timing matters too. When federal food benefits stalled during the government shutdown in the fall of 2025, the center braced for a wave of new households, and the holiday months bring their own rush. A volunteer who can show up between October and December covers the stretch when pantries feel it most.

If you want to keep it food-focused, we keep a page on food pantry volunteering across the county with sites beyond McElhattan. Neighboring Avis shares the New Love Center's service area and has its own listings. Beyond food, there is plenty of other work in the region. Our overview of volunteering across Clinton County covers schools, libraries, fire companies, and civic groups that all take help from people with an hour to spare.

Frequently asked questions

When is the New Love Center food pantry open?

The pantry distributes food on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month, from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 3 p.m. Those are the hours volunteers are needed most, since sorting, packing, and handing out all happen around distribution. Contact the New Love Center at 570-244-8838 to confirm the next date before you plan a shift.

Do I need experience to volunteer at a food pantry?

No. Sorting, packing, and handing out food are tasks anyone can pick up on their first shift. The pantry shows you where things go and pairs you with people who have done it before. If you can lift a box of canned goods and follow simple directions, you are qualified. Come as often or as rarely as your schedule allows.

Can groups or students volunteer together?

Yes. Church groups, scout troops, coworkers, and students all take packing or distribution shifts, sometimes together. The work suits people fulfilling court-ordered or school service hours because a shift has a clear start and end. Contact the New Love Center ahead of time so they know how many people to expect and which task fits your group.

Does the New Love Center need donations as well as volunteers?

Yes. Area grocery stores, businesses, and their employees donate steadily to keep the pantry stocked, and community food drives fill the gaps between deliveries. If your workplace, church, or club wants to run a collection, call the center at 570-244-8838 first so what you gather matches what the shelves actually need.