Feeding the Hungry

PATERSON  Parishes of the Paterson Diocese will be collecting food for the fourth annual diocesan-wide Corpus Christi Food Drive to assist the food pantries at Diocesan Catholic Charities and some parishes of the Diocese. The food drive will be held the weekend of June 17-18, when the Church celebrates the Feast of the Body of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi.

Bishop Serratelli has authorized the annual collection. In a letter to priests of the Diocese, he wrote: “Catholic Charities here in our Diocese and around the United States continues to be ‘the hands of Christ in a world in need of greater compassion and service. Last year’s support of the Catholic Charities Annual Corpus Christi Food Drive was a testament to that compassion and desire to serve.”

The food drive has been held every Feast of Corpus Christi since 2014 to assist food panties during the summer months when their shelves tend to become emptier. Catholic Charities relies heavily on parishes, schools, Knights of Columbus councils and other community organizations for food donations but food donations slowdown in summer, but the need does not.

The Bishop wrote, “The demands upon our food pantries have escalated in recent years due to the downturn in the economy, loss of jobs and the tough time many people have stretching their dollars. Catholic Charities is one of the most important local sources of food for literally thousands of our brothers and sisters in genuine need — particularly children.”

Different from other food collections in that parishioners are given a list of suggested food items needed, each parish has been designated to collect one or two specific food items for the Corpus Christi collection. The reason for this is to assure 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.

According to Diocesan Catholic Charities 2016 Annual Report, its People’s Choice Food Pantry at the Father English Center alone served 50,000 people, representing 12,000 families and distributed well over one million pounds of food. In total, Diocesan Catholic Charities Catholic Family and Community Services served more than 51,000 people through its Basic Needs programs in all three counties of the Paterson Diocese. The other Catholic Charities food pantries located in the Paterson Diocese are at Hope House in Dover and the Partnership for Social Services in Franklin.

Father Edward Lambro, director of development for Diocesan Catholic Charities, is coordinating the diocesan-wide food drive and sent information to parish representatives with instructions for parishes to announce the program to receive full participation from the parish community.

“In a world which seems so unfriendly sometimes, it is heartening to see the cooperation and good will of our diocesan family when we have this annual food drive,” Father Lambro said. “The drive helps our neighbors in Passaic, Morris and Sussex counties. It is that local element in addition to the Christianity of it all that seems to appeal to our donors. It is very rewarding for us at Catholic Charities and it helps meet the need so very much. It is a true win-win situation for everyone involved.”

Assisting Father Lambro are Deacon Peter Cistaro, diocesan director of permanent deacons, and all the deacons of the Diocese, who are helping to coordinate the program in each parish.

Deacon Cistaro said, “One of the charisms of a deacon is the ministry of charity and service. What better way to help others than to assist in collecting food for the poor and needy. Our deacons will make announcements at Masses the weeks prior to the actual food drive in order to encourage parishioners to support the food drive. In addition we will coordinate the accumulation of the food and assure its delivery to Father English Center in Paterson.”

The collection will also assist parishes that operate their own food pantry. While Catholic Charities will receive the food collected in this drive, the agencies will share these donations with parishes that have substantial needs.

Also, if parishioners will be away from their home parish or unable to bring food during June 17-18, they are invited to make a cash donation to supplement the food drive.

[Information: www.rcdop.org/food2017.]