Visit the Mount Joy Community Food Bank on any Wednesday or Friday morning and you will discover a bustling hive of activity led by Elaine Kuhn. Mrs. Kuhn has been actively involved in Mount Joy Helping Services for 40 years. No one seems to know the exact date, but late in the 1970’s people were receiving food bags out of the St. Mark’s’ parsonage, and Elaine was there to help.
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In honor of a life of service, the Rotary Club of Mount Joy presented Elaine Kuhn with the first Dottie Metzler Humanitarian Award. The award was given before an enthusiastic Rotary Club assembly and the Mount Joy Community Food Bank Board of Directors on Tuesday, January 16, 2018. A donation to the Food Bank for the continuation of the important work Kuhn and her volunteers are doing was also presented at the event as well as an engraved vase. Mount Joy Mayor Tim Bradley presented a proclamation in recognition of Mrs. Kuhn’s dedication to the community. Elaine was also presented with a citation from Pennsylvania Representative, David Hickernell.“Rotary’s humanitarian award recognizes the thousands of volunteer hours given by Elaine to administer our local food bank,” said Rotary President Joanne Pinkerton. “Distributing the food to the neediest is just the final step in a long process. We can never know all the time it takes to ensure the Food Bank will be open and available to our community.” As the Food Bank’s Executive Director, Kuhn coordinates food drives and solicits donations to maintain and operate the food bank; she recruits, trains and schedules her staff of volunteers; and she makes presentations to churches and clubs to keep the community informed of the Food Bank’s accomplishments and needs. As the Treasurer of Mount Joy helping services, she ensures the bills are paid; compiles reports; and ensures the building is maintained.
As a volunteer, the coordination of all this for 40 years has been Elaine Kuhn’s life work. “The great things that come in just when they are needed most” often inspire her. Her husband Russ Kuhn volunteers at the Food Bank, and son Terry Kuhn has contributed in ways only family members of other very active community volunteers can truly understand.
The Food Bank history includes many moves and an increase in the number of people served. The volunteer team moved into their current location in November of 2011. On the corner of Concord and Mount Joy Street, the Mount Joy Food Bank serves approximately 350 different families each year. Monthly, families are able to receive gifts of food, and other essential supplies, as they are available. In a nearby office, the Mount Joy Helping Service office assists by providing transportation and housing vouchers, rental assistance, clothing, furniture, and prescription aid.
The Rotary Club of Mount Joy is proud to recognize this important work by presenting the first Dottie Metzler Humanitarian Award to Elaine Kuhn, Executive Director of the Mount Joy Community Food Bank. For additional information about the award or the Mount Joy Rotary please visit our Facebook page.
PHOTOGRAPH: Rotary Club of Mount Joy Board of Directors honor Dottie Metzler Humanitarian Award winner Elaine Kuhn with a donation to the Mount Joy Community Food Bank. Present: Denny Brandt, Linda Gonya-Hartman, Ron Carper, Elaine Kuhn, Joanne Pinkerton, President, Mark Rorabaugh, Greg Sallade and Chris Rhyner.