Friend, Inc. Community Services

About Us

Friend, Inc. Community Services is a social support organization that, for over 40 years, works tirelessly to reduce food insecurity and other household economic pressures on families throughout rural northeast Berks County. We accomplish this through several self-select food pantries including a university student pantry, direct economic assistance to area households, state aid application assistance, referrals to mission aligned agencies, and tight collaboration with area school districts.

People in rural communities face exactly the same issues as people living in urban and suburban areas; hunger, housing, illness, poverty, domestic safety, and access to mental health support. Due to the nature of being ‘rural’, however, these challenges are often less noticeable than they are in denser populations. It’s hard to see. But every day we see it.

Over 420,000 pounds of food was placed, during this past year, on the kitchen tables of families we serve. Every month nearly 600 individuals (and their pets!) benefit from our self-select food pantry as do another 800 university students through our campus pantry. 90 additional people receive support from our Alburtis Mobile Market. Each year over 550 individuals are impacted through direct and referral support for things such as utilities, housing, SNAP and medical assistance.