Optimist Club forms food pantry

The official home page for the burough of California, Pennsylvania proudly displays the Optimist International logo. That's because the community is the beneficiary of a very active Optimist Club. Their latest activity was the creation of the community's only food pantry. According to founding Optimist Club member and former California mayor Gerald Gardner, they created the food pantry with help from the Washington County Food Bank after visiting the neighboring Ellsworth Food Pantry to learn the ropes.

The food pantry will officially be open for service on May 13. Other projects of the Optimist Club of California include care packages to troops in Iraq, a fire relief program, and the city's annual art and music festival, California Gold Rush Days. Not bad for a community of 6,000 people. Way to go Optimists!