Diocesan Ministries Appeal feeds record number of hungry

PATERSON  When Father English Food Pantry here first opened decades ago, it served 70 people per month. In the mid 2000s, it served more than 2,000 people a month. Today, the food pantry serves more than 20,000 people a month.

A consistent narrative for many who seek food from the Father English Center, an agency of Catholic Charities, is of the working poor. After working low wage jobs and paying for rent and utilities, many individuals and families have no money left for food. With the COVID-19 pandemic, more people than ever needed assistance. At the peak, around Christmas of 2020 nearly 27,000 people were being helped.

Guided by the theme, “Let Your Light Shine,” the Diocesan Ministries Appeal is now under way and will help support the food pantries of Diocesan Catholic Charities and countless other services the agency provides to thousands and thousands in the Diocese. The Appeal will also support seminarian education; priests’ healthcare needs; Nazareth Village, the retired priests’ residence in Chester; and inner-city Catholic elementary education.

Carlos Roldan, director of food pantries for Catholic Charities, told The Beacon, “We give out more than 1,000 bags of food every single day. Food is very, very expensive so if it was not for the support of the people out there we could not do what we do every day. They are the ones that are putting food on the people’s tables. Because of them, the people get to eat.”

Due to social distancing, clients are currently unable to enter the food pantry, which has expanded and is now located in the entire gym of the Father English Center. When it started, it was in a backroom area of the center. In 2005, the Father English Food Pantry went through a major refurbishment, which allowed it to serve as a “Consumer Choice” food pantry. It included shopping carts and the clients were able to pick the food they wanted, bringing the people a sense of dignity.

“We hope to go back to this model as soon as it is safe,” said Roldan.

In its early beginnings, the food pantry also simply gave non-perishable food items. Today clients receive fresh foods such as fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, and dairy products. Because of this, in the upcoming months, the Father English Food Pantry will be renovated once again to expand its refrigeration system similar to supermarkets with windows for clients to see through refrigerator or freezer doors. Currently, the refrigeration of perishable foods are in storage freezers, which makes organization difficult. The new units will also be more cost efficient and use less energy.

Leading this project is Roger Forman, a volunteer at Father English, who is the retired president of Krowne Metal Corp., based in Wayne. He started serving at the food pantry shortly after his retirement last fall. His sister, Diane Berg, also volunteers at the center.

“I was introduced to the food pantry and learned about the work here. I saw a need and the value of serving this local community,” said Forman. “It is direct assistance to help those in need. We see and meet the people we are helping.”

Witnessing the day-to-day operations of the food pantry, he realized how much work needed to be done to organize the high volume of food it is receiving to help so many in need in record numbers. This challenge is especially difficult because of the lack of physical help to do the work, making volunteers invaluable to the operations at the food pantry. Forman said, “I saw how hard it is to store in bulk and how hard it is to know where food is located. Seeing how hard the people work here, I wanted to see how I can help to serve those most in need better.”

In addition to the Father English Food Pantry at the Father English Center, there are two other food pantries run by Diocesan Catholic Charities. They are located at Hope House in Dover and at the Partnership for Social Services in Franklin. Catholic Charities’ food pantries also support the local food pantries in parishes and diocesan affiliates by filling in gaps when there are needs in the local pantries.

Food insecurity has been a significant need due to the pandemic and Catholic Charities has been on the forefront of addressing emergency COVID-19 needs.

Each year, Catholic Charities receives the largest percentage of funds from the Diocesan Ministries Appeal. Donations support a variety of programs and services in all three counties of the Diocese. These include people living in poverty, youth at risk, early childhood education, and developmental intervention to help children in poverty, adults with developmental disabilities, people with HIV/AIDS, senior citizen care, families in crisis, veterans, including those who are homeless or with unstable housing situations, and drug and alcohol treatment.

There is a speaker network available for parishes to have a representative from Catholic Charities or the Diocese speak on behalf of the 2021 Diocesan Ministries Appeal.

Similar to appeals in the past, parish rebates will be given to parishes that raise funds over their Appeal goal. Half the amount received over the parish goal is returned to parishes for their own needs.

All funds raised through the Appeal are used only for these goals. The funds raised in the Paterson Diocese stay in the Paterson Diocese.

There are a number of ways to give to the Appeal that will make a difference in people’s lives. Donors can make one-time gifts or gifts of pledges over several months. Credit card contributions can be made as well as online at 2021appeal.org.

“We are grateful for those who support the Diocesan Ministries Appeal,” said Roldan. “Thank you for letting your light shine and helping those most in need have food to eat.”