Food/ Supply Resources & Assistance:

• Operation 143: Is a weekend food program. The program provides dinner for Friday night and breakfast, lunch and dinner for Saturday and Sunday. Meals are non-perishable. If you are interested to see if you are eligible for this program please fill out this enrollment form.

• Helping Harvest- Food Assistance

•  Boyertown Multi-Service: Has resources to assist families with food and supplies, such as  Preston's Pantry  They also have services to assist during holidays.  Visit their website for further information.

• Boyertown Multi-Service: Santa's Workshop & Holiday Help due November 5th. 

• 🎁 MSE Holiday Help Available! The deadline to request holiday assistance is Friday, November 14. After this date, the school counselors will continue to work with families. However, available resources may be more limited.  Please complete the 25-26 MSE Winter/Holiday Assistance form to indicate your preferred stores and/or items. While we are not able to guarantee specific matches, we will make every effort to be considerate of requests. A school counselor will be in touch around December 8 to schedule pick up of items between December 10-16.

• Hard times occur for everyone, reach out to a school counselor to confidentially talk about ways we can help your child with school expenses.  

Resource Guide for Families Facing Reduced Benefits

Across our community, people are facing reductions or delays in SNAP benefits, income disruptions, and mounting financial stress, and they are turning to trusted organizations for answers.   In response, United Way of Berks County has created a resource guide to offer some clarity and connection during these challenging times.

Linked are English and Spanish versions of the guide, also available at https://www.uwberks.org/guide-for-help/, which include:

• Steps for accessing food, housing, and utility assistance

• Help checking benefit status or resolving issues

• Resources for mental health, childcare, and more

• Local contacts including PA 211, Helping Harvest, Centro Hispano, CareerLink, and others

Information about SNAP Benefits

Earlier this month, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) notified Pennsylvania that it will be unable to fund November SNAP benefits because of the federal shutdown. The 2025-26 LIHEAP season is also delayed until federal funding is received.

More information is available on the PA Department of Human Services website.

For immediate needs during the shutdown, Pennsylvanians can use PA Navigate to help find food and other resources. Local help is also available by visiting www.pa211.org. Pennsylvanians can also visit www.feedingpa.org to find local food banks and other food assistance programs. Many electric and gas companies offer utility assistance programs for qualifying customers, so Pennsylvanians can contact their utilities or visit the PA PUC’s utility assistance website for more information.