New Kensington library provides community space and services

For more than two decades, The Simple Way has been strong in its mission to help Kensington residents. Located on the corner of Potter and East Westmoreland streets, the nonprofit responded to the pandemic by providing food for residents, said the organization’s executive director, Ed Esquivel.

“Primarily we’ve been doing food bank stuff since the pandemic,” he said. “Suddenly, everyone needed food. So this whole space was different. It was full of fridges. You’d have a line going down the sidewalk of folks.”

Esquivel explained there are a lot of organizations that offered food services in the area over the last few years. Looking for a new niche to help residents, he explained, the group landed on a new idea: a library.

“There are just so many other needs we have,” he said. “The litera