For Joan Bost, the holiday season reinforces the need to put food on tables. As the holidays approach, more people are in need, and she has dedicated her time and effort to ensuring families facing hard times will have warm meals for the holidays.

The Saturday’s Kitchen Fund is distributing $20,300 this week to support 25 area food pantries. The fund has provided $247,865 in food pantry distributions since it opened. Their primary focus is keeping the St. Vincent De Paul Family Kitchen staffed on the weekend so that people can have food to eat. It used to close on Saturday before the fund started.

“It’s a joyous time of the year,” says Saturday’s Kitchen founder and organizer Joan Bost. “We all have meat on our tables, shouldn’t they? Everyone should have a nice table at Christmastime.”

The Saturday’s Kitchen Fund, housed at the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, raises money through its Christmas in July fundraiser, and throughout the year as Joan spreads the word about our region’s great need.

That generosity is met with profound gratitude from the volunteers and organizations on the front lines, providing for their food-insecure neighbors.

The 25 food pantries and organizations receiving funding from Saturday’s Kitchen are located throughout Cambria and Somerset County. Collectively, they serve thousands of people and the support from the Saturday’s Kitchen Fund helps the food pantries survive all year round.

For Joan, it’s a calling that never takes a vacation. “Of course, people don’t need this just during the holidays,” she says. “Hunger is all year round and it’s important to help all year round.”

Here are the food pantries and programs supported by the Saturday’s Kitchen Fund.

• Cambria County Backpack Project
• Conemaugh Valley School District
• Cresson Food Pantry
• Dorothy Day Center
• Ebensburg Food Pantry
• Forest Hills Food Pantry
• Franklin Street United Methodist Church Food Pantry
• Good Samaritan Food Pantry
• Interfaith Community Food Pantry
• Patton Food Pantry
• Portage Area Food Pantry
• Southfork Food Pantry
• Andrew’s Food Pantry
• Clement’s Food Pantry
• Francis Caring and Sharing Good Pantry
• Vincent de Paul Society
• Vincent de Paul St. Bernard’s Food Pantry
• The Salvation Army
• Walnut Grove Food Pantry
• West End Food Pantry
• Windber Area Food Pantry

You can help. Go here to contribute to the Saturday’s Kitchen Fund, to support local families.