Dani Ruhf looks across a warehouse in Scranton’s Green Ridge section. Pallets of recently delivered food sit ready to be distributed to children. The nonprofit Ruhf founded in Towanda five years ago now serves 45,000 students weekly.
With the new space, Ruhf plans to serve many more.
“I'm just so grateful to be here. I mean, seriously... so, so grateful,” Ruhf said, walking through the warehouse on Dickson Avenue.
CHOP Out Hunger, formerly known as Child Hunger Outreach Partners, started in Bradford County in 2019 after Ruhf’s daughter expressed concerns to her mother about classmates not eating at lunchtime.
Two years later, CHOP expanded to Lackawanna County, serving children in the Scranton School District. The nonprofit opened a warehouse in South Scranton in 2022 and outgrew the space within months.
“It's just really neat to see the growth, and while it's so exciting, it's like a gut punch on the other side,” the Laceyville resident said. “Because that means that there's kids out there that need it. So you're so excited to be growing and so proud to be doing these things, but you're doing them because there's a terrible situation that needs to be served.”
CHOP now reaches children in 18 counties with its backpack program and in-school pantries. Each week, CHOP delivers bags of food for students to take home over the weekend, when a free lunch or breakfast at school isn’t available. CHOP also stocks pantries in schools, inviting students to visit for a snack or to take food home for meals. Funded through grants and private donations, there are no income restrictions for families.
In Bradford County, where CHOP started, pop-up pantries help serve 5,000 people monthly. Home delivery to senior citizens is offered in five counties, and the group will continue to distribute food to children through the summer through schools, libraries and other events.
The new Scranton warehouse more than quadruples space in Lackawanna County, going from 8,500 to 36,000 square feet. The Towanda warehouse also remains open to serve students in that region and beyond.
Just within one recent week, Ruhf said she received inquiries from 20 schools.
“We couldn't take more schools on because we didn't have room to store the food to take them on,” Ruhf said. “And so now that we have all of this incredible space, I can source food from all over the place.”
JBAS Realty, the owner of both Scranton properties, will also renovate adjoining space at the new warehouse for offices and packing stations for the more than 100 volunteers who visit weekly. Volunteers pack 5,000 to 6,000 bags each week in Scranton.
CHOP started serving Towanda Area Junior/Senior High School students five years ago. Principal Rebecca Stanfield sees the impact of the in-school pantry daily. She even did her doctoral dissertation on the impact and found correlation between schools with pantries and a positive impact on academics and attendance.
She often hears students excited about the items in the pantry, and even more excited to be taking food home.
“They know that they're going to be able to not only just take care of themselves but to help out their families at home… that's the excitement that a food pantry can do for kids and their families,” Stanfield said.
