Corpus Christi Food Drive

CLIFTON  Bishop Serratelli has asked Catholics of the Diocese to open their hearts to the poor and donate food to the fifth annual Corpus Christi Food Drive June 2-3 at weekend Masses. The donations will help local Catholic Charities agencies continue to serve as “one of the most important local sources of food for literally thousands of our brothers and sisters in genuine need, particularly children,” through the summer months, when the shelves of its food pantries become emptier.

The Bishop has requested that parishes and schools throughout the Diocese donate food and household items to the annual food drive, set to take place from Saturday, June 2 to Sunday, June 3, when the Church celebrates the Feast of the Body of Christ, also known as the Feast of Corpus Christi. Each parish and school has been asked to collect specific food or household items that it donated last year [see table on page 6]. Individuals, who are not able to bring donations to their parishes or schools, are asked to make a cash donation to supplement the food drive, which Bishop Serratelli started in 2014, said Scott Milliken, Catholic Charities’ chief executive officer.

“Every summer, the demands upon our food pantries have escalated and in recent years, many have a tough time stretching their dollars,” Bishop Serratelli wrote in a letter to priests, who serve the Diocese, in announcing this year’s food drive. “Last year's support of the Catholic Charities Annual Corpus Christi Food Drive was a testament to that compassion and desire to serve. Again this year, I ask you and your parish community, school or agency to participate in the food drive to enable our Catholic Charities agencies to replenish the shelves in their food pantries,” the Bishop wrote.

Held on the Feast of Corpus Christi in the Diocese since 2014, the food drive assists food pantries in the Church of Paterson during the summer months. Throughout the year, Catholic Charities relies heavily on parishes, schools, Knights of Columbus councils and other community organizations for food donations. In the summer, food donations slow down but the need does not. The collection will benefit Catholic Chari­ties’ food pantries, as well as at parishes with substantial needs that operate their own food pantries, Milliken said.

“We have a tremendous need for food in the summer, which places a burden on our food pantries. These annual food drives have sustained our pantries for the entire summer,” said Milliken, who noted that Catholics of the Diocese donated 55,000 pounds of food during last year’s Corpus Christi Food Drive. “I thank the parishes and schools for continuing to support this worthy cause and Bishop Serratelli and Msgr. James Mahoney [diocesan vicar general and moderator of the Curia and pastor of Corpus Christi Parish, Chatham Township] for their support of Catholic Charities and the food drive,” he said.

Unlike other food collections, the Corpus Christi drive asks parishioners to donate one or two specific food and household items. This assures that Catholic Charities has sufficient quantities of each item. Some examples include a collection of canned meats and fish at some parishes, while other parishes collect boxes of pasta or peanut butter and jelly, Milliken said.

After parishes and schools collect the food items locally, they have been asked to bring their donations to one of three Drop Off Locations. At these sites, Deacon Peter Cistaro of St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippany, the director of the diocesan Permanent Diaconate, and other deacons will help sort the food to prepare for delivery to the pantries, Milliken said.

The drop off for Morris County will take place at St. Simon the Apostle Church, 1010 Green Pond Rd., Newfoundland/Green Pond in Rockaway, in the rectory building downstairs in the Parish Center. Times will be Sunday, June 3 from 12:30 to 5 p.m.; Monday, June 4, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Tuesday, June 5, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., he said.

The drop off for Passaic County will take place in the hall of Father English Community Center in Paterson, a Catholic Charities agency, from Monday, June 4 to Thursday, June 7, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The drop off for Sussex County will take place at the Department of Persons with Disabilities, One Catholic Charities Way in Oak Ridge, another Catholic Charities’ agency, from Monday, June 4 to Thursday, June 7, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Milliken said.

Each, year Catholic Charities’ provides food pantry assistance, case management, emergency assistance or shelter to more than 20,000 people in the three counties it serves. The organization’s three food pantries — People’s Choice Food Pantry at the Father English Center in Paterson and locations at Hope House, Dover, and the Partnership for Social Services, Franklin — distribute more than 1.25 million pounds of food to clients annually, according to Catholic Charities’ 2017 Annual Report.

Father Robert Mitchell, pastor of St. Patrick Parish, Chatham, credited the success of the Corpus Christi Food Drive to Catholics all around the Diocese, like those in his Morris County faith community and its school. “Our parishioners look forward to the food drive. The parents also get their children involved,” said Father Mitchell, who noted that St. Patrick’s places collection baskets in the church and in the parish center and also allows parishioners to drop off donations during the week leading up to the actual weekend of the food drive.

“It also connects us to the image of the Body of Christ. There are people in the Body of Christ who are in need. When we take that to heart, we can share more,” the pastor said.

For the Corpus Christi food drive parishes are being asked to collect the following specific food and household items to keep the shelves full over the summer months at Catholic Charities food pantries in Passaic, Morris and Sussex Counties: