Officials at St. Kilian Parish want three missing food bins returned. The bins, which were filled with food, went missing from the church's food pantry in Mars.

St. Kilian Parish is looking for information or a peaceful return after three bins filled with food were taken from its food pantry in Mars.

The Rev. Charles Bober, pastor at St. Kilian, said neither he nor the church are upset the food is missing. He just hopes whoever took the bins will return them.

“We're not seeking to get anybody in trouble,” he said. “We just want the bins back so we can continue to use them for people that need food.”

The bins, Bober said, are used to store food people in need can pick up throughout the day. He said each bin contains three large bags of non-perishable food. The bins are used to keep that food safe from nearby wildlife.

The pastor hopes whoever took the bins was genuinely in need of the food and didn't realize the church reuses the bins for holding the food. The Kilian Cupboard uses the parish hall at the intersection of Clark and Cherry Streets inside the former church home in Mars.

“If somebody was really hungry, and they had a very large family and they took all nine bags, that'd be fine. If they needed it, that's great,” he said. “But just leave the bins so they can replenish it and keep the food safe.”

Mars Mayor Gregg Hartung also hopes taking the bins was simply a misunderstanding.

“We're disappointed that something like this would happen under the current situation, but we're hoping it's someone who maybe didn't see the labels that the containers were to stay there, and hopefully they'll return them,” Hartung said. “If not, we'll replace them because it's a desperate need right now.”

Until the church receives the bins back, it will have to — again — adjust the operation of its food pantry. Food will be kept in the picnic shelter near the soccer field in Cranberry Township, and those in need can contact St. Kilian church office to pick up or have the food delivered, he said.

If the bins are returned, the parish's food cupboard will return to its now-normal operation. Bags of food will be put in the bins, which will be monitored and refilled regularly. Those in need can take what they need.

Bober said whoever took the bins, or whoever knows where they are, can return them by putting them on the steps of the former church in Mars.