First Posted: 3/27/2015
The 40 days and 40 nights of Lent are coming to an end.
One known Lenten tradition is refraining from eating meat on Fridays, and plenty of community organizations within the Greater Pittston area are still hosting food sales to accommodate for the Catholic tradition.
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church held a soup sale during the Lenten season. The church was supposed to have a sale on Friday, April 3 to sell what soup was left, but Pam Hanczyc, treasurer for the church said there is so little left that they are just going to donate it to those in need.
Hanczyc said this was the first year they did a soup sale during the Lenten season and wanted to change it up from the regular fish fries and pizza sales going on within the community.
Sales were planned every Friday throughout the six-week period and the church was looking for a few good volunteers.
“We had the same people every week making soups,” said Hanczyc. “We have a couple of good chefs in our congregation who volunteer their time. A couple of our men run restaurants. They were really a core of three men and four women that did everything every Friday. We would come down on Thursday and prep everything and then on Friday morning we’d put it all together and make the soups.”
Funds earned from the soup sale, Hanczyc said, will go back into the church or they will find a way to use it to help the community in some way.
“We did well, not only in selling the soups, but also judging how much to make and store,” said Hanczyc. “We’re also doing a nut and poppy seed sale for Easter and that will take place on Wednesday. There is still time to get orders in for those.”
Those wishing to order for the nut and poppy seed roll can call Hanczyc at 570-313-2829.
Churches are not the only ones tending to the community during the Lenten season.
The West Wyoming Hose Company No. 1 has been selling pizzas every week during Lent for the past five years. Pizzas are made fresh and sold from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays.
Vice president of the hose company Jayne Hromek and membership secretary Jean Granteed said anywhere between 70 and 90 pizzas are made each week.
“We’ve sold over 100 in the past,” said Hromek. “We have a lot of returning customers.”
According to the two hose company volunteers, they’ve done only pizza sales during Lent.
“Pizza’s easy and people like it,” said Granteed. “Probably the best way to make money is to do the pizza and we like making pizza.”
The pizzas are made fresh on the day of sales, and with anywhere from 10-12 volunteers working during the day and a few more coming in to help around in the evening, Granteed said things go off without a hitch.
“Jayne’s usually here all day and I’m here as much as I can be,” said Granteed. “(Our husbands) are here and after school lets out some of our junior members come and help out. People that work during the day will come in at 4 p.m. and do the cleanup part.”
Money earned during the month goes back into the hose company, according to Hromek, to help pay for utilities and and equipment needs. She stressed that the West Wyoming Hose Company No. 1 is a volunteer organization, saying its members are on a volunteers basis and don’t earn a dime.
The last day for the hose company’s pizza sale will be Friday, April 3 and Hromek said people can call in and begin ordering immediately. She said to leave a message on the answering machine as she will be in and out of the hose company building throughout the week to check for messages for pizza orders.
The number to call is 570-693-1811.
