CSO Launches a New Mini-Mobile Food Pantry and Announces Partnership with Luzerne County Community College

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Central Susquehanna Opportunities, Inc. (CSO) marked two milestones on Monday, September 14: the launch of its third mobile food pantry and a new partnership with Luzerne County Community College (LCCC) that brings CSO case management to the college's Greater Susquehanna Center in Watsontown. Volunteers, partner agencies, staff, funders, and longtime CSO supporters came together for the celebration, which included a workshop on food access and a ribbon-cutting for the new vehicle.

A Smaller Unit That Can Go Further

CSO's mobile pantry fleet now includes three units. The first, a 32-foot trailer pulled by a full-size truck, handles large distributions. A mobile van already serves Columbia, Montour, and Northumberland counties. The new, more compact unit is dedicated entirely to Northumberland County and can reach smaller sites that a larger vehicle can't access.

Bringing Case Management to Campus

LCCC has set aside a corner office in its student hall where a CSO case manager will meet with people two days a week as part of a pilot program. The caseworker will serve LCCC students as well as community members, helping them connect with local resources, set goals, and access ongoing support, with incentives to encourage participation.CSO and LCCC have worked together for several years. College students often benefit from help navigating social services. For CSO, food distribution and self-sufficiency work go hand in hand. A visit to a pantry is often the first contact a family has with CSO, and it opens the door to other programs.

Food Access Challenges and Opportunities

The event opened with a workshop by Zach Zook, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. Highlights included:

• Local need. About 13,000 Northumberland County residents are food insecure, and the county's child food insecurity rate (20.5%) is the highest in the five-county region.

• Shifts in support. Since January 2025, SNAP participation in the county has dropped 10.3%, federal food to the Central PA Food Bank has fallen by more than half, and pantry visits have risen 9.1%.

• Access barriers. 22% of Northumberland pantry visitors have had to choose between transportation and food, a gap mobile pantries help close.

• Pantries as a front door. Only 55% of county pantry visitors receive SNAP, making pantries a strong place to connect people with other resources.

Zook encouraged partners to keep collaborating, listen to the people they serve, and advocate with policymakers.

What's Next

With the mini mobile unit on the road, CSO's next step is the case management van. It will be stationed at key locations across Northumberland County so residents facing transportation barriers can access services close to home.

Thank You to Our Partners

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This project was made possible by Northumberland County, Geisinger, the Charles B. Degenstein Foundation, the PPL Foundation, M&T Bank, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, and Luzerne County Community College.