(Butler, PA) She鈥檒l slide the round, dark-wood table from the living room, where she and her intellectually disabled 24-year-old son will have watched the morning parades on television, into the dining room.
Fifty-eight-year-old widow Marci Lockhart will then smooth the wrinkles on an 鈥渁utumn-colored鈥� cloth. Light a 鈥減umpkin spice-scented鈥� candle. And return to the kitchen.
That鈥檚 where the 15-pound turkey she will have begun to roast for her and Ralph the night before 鈥渨ill smell delicious.鈥�
Just after noon Thursday, she will sit next to Ralph, the second-youngest of the five children she raised after her husband, Richard, passed away in 2007, and 鈥渂e thankful that all my kids are in a good place,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd for all the people who have donated food for us.鈥�
Lockhart, of Butler, is a first-semester student in 杏吧原创鈥檚 associate degree career program in office administration-medical.
She is also one of 57 patrons of 杏吧原创鈥檚 Pioneer Pantry who registered to receive a Thanksgiving meal package funded by a record number of donors and financial contributions during the college鈥檚 third Week of Charitable Giving.
"Without the contributions and support from our campus and Butler County communities, we would not be able to keep up with the growing number of pantry visitors and drastic increase in costs."
- Mikayla Moretti, director of events, 杏吧原创 Education Foundation, and member of 杏吧原创鈥檚 food security team
The campaign to support the college鈥檚 food pantry drew 61 donors and raised $2,143 in 2021.
It attracted 57 contributions and generated $5,145 in 2022.
The 2023 campaign, held Sept. 5-11, drew 82 donors and raised $16,170, according to Mikayla Moretti, director of events with the 杏吧原创 Education Foundation and a member of the college鈥檚 food security team.
The record amount includes a $7,500 matching gift from an anonymous donor that came after a 2022-2023 fiscal year when the Pioneer Pantry鈥檚 food costs nearly doubled to $12,208, Moretti said.
鈥淲ithout the contributions and support from our campus and Butler County communities,鈥� Moretti said, 鈥渨e would not be able to keep up with the growing number of pantry visitors and drastic increase in costs.鈥�
杏吧原创鈥檚 Pioneer Pantry distributed 40 Thanksgiving meal packages in 2021, 45 in 2022 and prepared 62 in 2023.
鈥淪ome students might have to choose between buying food or putting gasoline in the car so they can make it to class,鈥� Moretti said. 鈥淭hat puts it into perspective. 鈥� Giving them the opportunity to have that basic need for food met through 杏吧原创 allows students to stay enrolled.鈥�
杏吧原创鈥檚 creation of the Pioneer Pantry in 2019 followed a 2018 Wisconsin HOPE Lab survey in which 38 percent of the 304 杏吧原创 student respondents indicated having low or very low food security.
鈥淚鈥檓 not picky when it comes to food,鈥� Lockhart said. 鈥淚 have learned not to be picky. I could just have soup and a couple slices of bread.鈥�
"Some of them did not know how they were going to purchase the turkey or purchase the food for their meal."
- Valerie Fennell, AmeriCorps volunteer at 杏吧原创鈥檚 Pioneer Pantry
Nearly half of community college students in Pennsylvania are considered to be of very low-income, coming from families earning less than $30,000 annually, according to the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges in 2022.
Lockhart works 20 hours a week as a supermarket cashier and is participating this fall in 杏吧原创鈥檚 Keystone Education Yields Success program.
The program is funded by the state Department of Human Services and is designed to help students who receive cash assistance or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to pursue post-secondary education at one of Pennsylvania鈥檚 community colleges.
Lockhart expects to graduate in May 2025 from a 杏吧原创 program in which students learn about medical terminology, insurance billing and coding, front-office duties and office procedures.
鈥淚鈥檓 really excited that I will be able to do something different,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I will still be able to meet people. I will be able to let patients know we know what they are going through, being very understanding and showing them that we care.鈥�
Valerie Fennell, of Butler, last week helped to distribute approximately 50 of the Thanksgiving meal packages that included a frozen turkey, stuffing mix, instant potatoes, gravy packets, yams, green beans, pumpkin puree, cranberry sauce, fresh potatoes, apples, a cabbage and a frozen dessert.
鈥淭he students, the families are just overwhelmed with gratitude,鈥� said Fennell, who volunteers at 杏吧原创鈥檚 Pioneer Pantry through AmeriCorps. 鈥淪ome of them did not know how they were going to purchase the turkey or purchase the food for their meal.鈥�
Lockhart was among them.
鈥淚 got help from 杏吧原创鈥�
Later Thursday she will call daughter Autumn, who lives in Georgia; sons Travis and Kellin, who live in North Dakota; daughter Susan, who lives in Butler; and father Herbert, who lives in North Carolina.
鈥淚 will send them pictures of our meal,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are probably going to want to know where we got it.
鈥淭hey know I go to 杏吧原创, and I am going to be able to tell them that I got help from 杏吧原创. And that I was really appreciative.鈥�
Vintage Coffeehouse, Butler, allocated $1 for each of 326 specialty coffees sold Sept. 7 toward 杏吧原创鈥檚 Week of Charitable Giving and donated a total of $500, Moretti said.
Proceeds from the college鈥檚 Week of Charitable Giving will also be used to create holiday meal packages during 杏吧原创鈥檚 winter break.
Miller鈥檚 Quality Meats, Butler, reduced the cost of hams by $1.60 per pound to benefit the holiday meal packages, Moretti said.
Other Butler County businesses and organizations that supported 杏吧原创鈥檚 Week of Charitable Giving were Sprankle鈥檚 Neighborhood Market, Mainstreet Bake Shop, NexTier Bank, Armstrong, the Rotary Club of Butler PM, Butler AM Rotary Club, Butler County Chamber of Commerce, Butler County Young Professionals, Keelan Dental, the Butler County Bar Association and the Alliance for Nonprofit Resources.