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Central Pennsylvania Food Bank Celebrates Expansion in Williamsport

WILLIAMSPORT — There was a line out the door at the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank in Williamsport. With help from the nonprofit, about 850 families will ...

WILLIAMSPORT -- There was a line out the door at the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank in Williamsport. With help from the nonprofit, about 850 families will get a box of food for the holidays. However, that is just a portion of the nearly 60,000 families the food bank provides for every year.

"And they are really helpful for, you know, food and everything, so thank God that they are here to help," said Kathleen Irvin from Williamsport.

Employees hope to help even more families, now that the Healthy Food Hub is open. The food bank celebrated the grand opening of its $3 million expansion at its facility in Williamsport.

The project that was funded by public and private investors has doubled the amount of freezer space. There's also more cooler space so they can keep healthy foods fresh longer.

"52 weeks a year we will be able to provide fresh produce, fruits and veggies, frozen goods, frozen meats,” said Joe Arthur.

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank also wants to help people learn how to cook healthier. It's why they built a teaching kitchen as part of their expansion.

"We'll be training our member agencies how to help people choose better foods and then cook it in a healthier way,” said Arthur.

Marian VanSant doesn't always choose the healthy options during the holidays.

"Chips and dip and things like that that you shouldn't have, but once a year, it doesn't hurt,” said VanSant.

She and others who do rely on the food bank are glad to see this expansion means they have more options and a better chance of eating healthy.

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