PFC Laron Cintron with the National Guard picks up a box of food during a food distribution Friday afternoon at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Austintown.

AUSTINTOWN — More than 170 families were fed during a drive-thru food distribution Friday afternoon at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Austintown, said Pat Wolf, church food pantry coordinator.

Nine members of the Ohio Army National Guard and about a dozen volunteers helped with the effort, which took place as a drive-thru in front of the parish hall. The distribution started with 160 boxes of food and volunteers worked to pack more as cars rolled by Friday.

The church food pantry was started a year ago and usually feeds 70 to 80 families at an indoor giveaway on the second and fourth Friday of the month, Wolf said. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the pantry has hosted three drive-thru food distributions, feeding approximately 200 families each time.

Wolf said the pantry has a list of 180 registered families who receive phone calls prior to distribution events, but others see the signs posted at the end of the road. Wolf said at a past giveaway over the course of two days, a local family donated $1,000 to the pantry in two $500 checks.

“We’ve got the support of the community, so we’ve been very blessed and we’re excited to help out,” Wolf said.