Family-to-Family distribution in Scranton gives gifts of Christmas dinners
SCRANTON — The annual Family Christmas Food Contest distributed enough food for 4,000 family Christmas dinners and counting on Monday.
A program of Friends of the Poor and the Catherine McAuley Center, a recently merged nonprofit agency, the event held at the Masonic Temple’s Scranton Cultural Center once again brought together hundreds of volunteers.
“It really brings the whole community together,” both as recipients and volunteers, said Linda Robeson, director of Family-to-Family.
Each recipient received a grocery bag filled with food, enough for about two large family dinners and leftovers, said Meghan Loftus, president and CEO of Friends of the Poor and the Catherine McAuley Center.
“These events in particular, we couldn’t do without the community — all the donations, all the volunteer hours, all the people coming together,” Loftus said. “The reason it’s called Family to Family is because it’s one family giving for another family,” and multiplied.
The need for food gifts, and other similar annual gifts for the Thanksgiving and Easter holidays, never seems to diminish, and this year was no exception, they said. The number of food baskets was capped at 4,000 based on available funds, Robeson said.
“Financially, it’s been a tough year for giving,” Robeson said.
As a drive-thru or walk-up distribution, Monday’s Christmas food distribution also closed portions of North Washington Avenue and other nearby streets to allow for streamlined and safe traffic routes.
Teams of volunteers gathered in the ballroom and hallway of the cultural center to package food items, including potatoes, apples, loaves of bread, cans of green beans and ham, for distribution to recipients.
Some volunteers carried bags of groceries and hams outside and placed them on tables set up in the street and on a sidewalk. Others manned stations at these tables to hand out the bags of food to recipients who drove through or walked to the distribution event.
Some of the volunteer groups included participants from Bank of America, Scranton School District, Mountain Edge Recovery and a youth confirmation group from Prince of Peace Parish in Old Forge, according to Ann Williams, volunteer and outreach manager for Friends of the Poor and the Catherine McAuley Center.
To a casual observer, the whole operation, full of activity inside and outside the cultural center, may appear a bit chaotic, but it is actually very organized, said Loftus, who began leading Friends of the Poor in 2017.
“Since 2017, I’ve been saying that ‘organized chaos’ is the Friends of the Poor way,” Loftus joked.
The two faith-based nonprofit organizations that provided housing, shelter, food, clothing and other assistance to residents in need, the Catherine McAuley Center and Friends of the Poor — founded in 1984 and 1986, respectively — finalized their merger on August 1.
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Volunteers work at the Masonic Temple’s Scranton Cultural Center Monday, Dec. 22, 2026, for the annual Friends of the Poor Family-to-Family Food Contest. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
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Volunteers gather bags of food directly at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple on Monday, December 22, 2026, for the annual Friends of Poor Families Food Contest. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
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Volunteers gather bags of food directly at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple on Monday, December 22, 2026, for the annual Friends of Poor Families Food Contest. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
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Volunteers direct traffic in front of the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple on Monday, Dec. 22, 2026, for the annual Friends of Poor Families Food Contest. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
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The annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Distribution, a program of Friends of the Poor and the Catherine McAuley Center, a recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, December 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center of the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton, distributed 4,000 baskets, each containing enough food for at least two family dinners. The photo shows volunteers at work inside the cultural center. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Distribution, a program of Friends of the Poor and the Catherine McAuley Center, a recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, December 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center of the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton, distributed 4,000 baskets, each containing enough food for at least two family dinners. The photo shows bagged food on a table set up on a sidewalk for the event and which was available through a drive-thru or walk-up. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Distribution, a program of Friends of the Poor and the Catherine McAuley Center, a recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, December 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center of the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton, distributed 4,000 baskets, each containing enough food for at least two family dinners. The photo shows sacks of potatoes and boxes of apples inside the cultural center. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Distribution, a program of Friends of the Poor and the Catherine McAuley Center, a recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, December 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center of the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton, distributed 4,000 baskets, each containing enough food for at least two family dinners. The photo shows bagged food on a table set up on North Washington Avenue for the event, with drive-thru or walk-up service. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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Linda Robeson, volunteer and director of the Family-to-Family Christmas Food Distribution, a program of Friends of the Poor and the Catherine McAuley Center, a recently combined nonprofit agency, poses for a photo during the annual event held Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave., in downtown Scranton. The program distributed 4,000 baskets, each containing enough food for at least two family dinners. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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Ethan Salerno, left, and Alex Schlegel, both 14, carry hams while volunteering with a confirmation group at Prince of Peace Parish in Old Forge, during the annual Family-to-Family Christmas Gift Distribution, a program of Friends of the Poor and the Catherine McAuley Center, a recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center at Temple Masonic, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton. The program distributed 4,000 baskets, each containing enough food for at least two family dinners. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Distribution, a program of Friends of the Poor and the Catherine McAuley Center, a recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, December 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center of the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton, distributed 4,000 baskets, each containing enough food for at least two family dinners. The photo shows bagged food on a table set up on North Washington Avenue for the event, with drive-thru or walk-up service. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Distribution, a program of Friends of the Poor and the Catherine McAuley Center, a recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, December 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center of the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton, distributed 4,000 baskets, each containing enough food for at least two family dinners. The photo shows sacks of potatoes inside the cultural center. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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The annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Distribution, a program of Friends of the Poor and the Catherine McAuley Center, a recently combined nonprofit agency, held Monday, December 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center of the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton, distributed 4,000 baskets, each containing enough food for at least two family dinners. The photo shows bagged food on a table set up on North Washington Avenue for the event, with drive-thru or walk-up service. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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Ann Williams of the Friends of the Poor and the Catherine McAuley Center, poses near a Christmas tree while dressed festively for the annual Family-to-Family Christmas Food Distribution, a program of the Friends of the Poor and the Catherine McAuley Center recently combined with a nonprofit agency, held Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave., in downtown Scranton. The program distributed 4,000 baskets, each containing enough food for at least two family dinners. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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Volunteers work at the Masonic Temple’s Scranton Cultural Center Monday, Dec. 22, 2026, for the annual Friends of the Poor Family-to-Family Food Contest. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
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