Carbon County officials have created a temporary food bank for those in need as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Thursday, Commissioner Rocky Ahner announced that he has organized a one-time countywide emergency food distribution through Second Harvest, which is separate from the Shepherd House and other municipal food banks in the county operating on a monthly basis.

He said a lot of the area’s food banks are seeing double or triple the amount of families in need of food service as a result of layoffs and loss of incomes and are having a hard time keeping up with the sudden increase in demand.

“I know a lot of people are not getting their checks and not getting food,” he said, noting that in Palmerton, the need has increased from approximately 85 families to 205 families; and in Jim Thorpe, from 75 families to 243 families.

He said the countywide food distribution for those in need will provide anyone with food, and will be in addition to the food banks already in place.

The emergency food distribution will start on Friday in Lehighton for anyone in the Lehighton Area School District and travel to the five area school districts for distribution to any resident in need in that school district. Each location will have 400 emergency boxes available for distribution on a first come, first served basis.

The schedule is:

• Friday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lehighton Area High School, use the Ninth Street entrance.

• Saturday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Weatherly Area High School, 601 Sixth St. This distribution will also include the areas of Beaver Meadows and Tresckow.

• May 8: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Palmerton Area High School, 3525 Fireline Road.

• May 9: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Panther Valley Middle School, 678 Panther Pride Drive, Lansford.

• May 9: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Memorial Hall in Jim Thorpe, 101 E. 10th St.

The emergency food boxes that will be distributed include items like pasta, vegetables, fruit, juice and more. The distribution will be a drive-thru, with residents pulling up to receive a box of food and it being placed in the trunk of your car.

“We were always feeding the underprivileged, and the people who need it now are the ones who are laid off, so we want to get to them,” Ahner said. “Once we get back to normal, then we can go back to normal with the food banks.”

Ahner added that a robocall will be sent out through the school districts to residents ahead of the distribution, and anyone in need can visit the distribution location in their school district during the scheduled times. Only one box per vehicle is permitted.

The county has already received a $6,000 donation to help with obtaining freezer trucks to store the food during each area’s distribution day, but volunteers are needed to help make this a success.

Volunteers will travel to Second Harvest to pick up food and will set up at the locations for the drive-up distribution.

Anyone willing to volunteer to call him at the office at 570-325-3611 during business hours.

“We’re wearing our regular food banks out,” he said, adding that most of the volunteers who make those operations work are retired. “I can’t commend them enough for as much as they do, but I don’t want to wear them out.”