Brackney food pantry gets cafe ‘kickstart’

Valerie Winters (left) the cook for the ‘Kickstart the Community’ Lebanese dinner and Peg Miller (right) owner of The Kickstart Cafe and organizer for the event.

Valerie Winters (left) the cook for the ‘Kickstart the Community’ Lebanese dinner and Peg Miller (right) owner of The Kickstart Cafe and organizer for the event.

A small, diner in Choconut Twp. is making a big impact – not only as a local gathering place, but also as a business set on serving its community.
Don and Peg Miller, owners of The Kickstart Café, are giving back to the community that offered them support as they opened the diner almost one year ago.
A member of the Silver Lake Fire & Rescue, Peg said she was familiar with the Brackney Food Pantry, housed in the Silver Lake Volunteer Fire Station 2, but found many local residents did not know about it.
“I thought of the diner. People look at it as a community kind of thing,” Peg said, and came up with the idea to host occasional dinners there came in December of last year.
That idea came to fruition earlier this month with the first “Kickstart the Community” dinner event held at the diner located on SR 267.
Proceeds from the dinner event benefited the Brackney Food Pantry. The pantry services up to 200 people each month and also provides food baskets for about 35 families at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Known for its sausage gravy and biscuits, as well as burgers, and fresh baked muffins, the breakfast and lunch diner is open seven days a week, 6 a.m-2 p.m., but never for dinner, Miller said.
She reached out to Valerie Winters, a local resident and cooking teacher with the Montrose Adult School to bring a Lebanese themed meal to the tables in the first event.
Winters volunteered her time and talents in preparing the meal; while Miller covered the cost of the food. Local businesses also donated with prizes for a raffle baskets.
“Tickets sold out in four days,” Miller said. The event raised over $1,033 for the local food pantry.
“I was so happy,” Miller said. “It was amazing. It made me feel good.”
Miller said two more Kickstart the Community events are planned. The next one will be held on July 12; and the third will be held Sept. 13.
In July, Miller said she is partnering with Russell Farms for the dinner; and is working with local Girl Scouts for the September dinner.
The events will benefit different food-related community needs.
For more information about Kickstart the Community events, find Kickstart Café Friendsville Pa. on Facebook.

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