Bishop’s Annual Appeal 2018

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PATERSON  Last week on Thanksgiving Day, hundreds of people enjoyed a traditional holiday meal complete with a turkey and all the trimmings that they otherwise would not have had without the Father English Food Pantry here, a department of Catholic Charities Catholic Family and Community Services (CFCS).

Maria was one of the people that stood at the food pantry with several bags full of food. This support helped keep her family from going hungry during the holiday. Recently, Maria’s home caught on fire and her husband and two children were forced to move into a shelter.

Maria said, “I contacted Catholic Charities and I was directed to CFCS’ Father English Center. Here, the staff not only helped me get food but they also provided me with assistance to find a place to live and were able to secure a dining room table for me to serve Thanksgiving dinner. The food pantry and the kindness of the staff has given me and my family a sense of security and hope for the future.”

Stories like this are endless to the more than 350 people helped by Catholic Charities agencies in the Diocese of Paterson each day. Its three pantries receive about 25,000 visits each year and hand out nearly seven tons of food.

In addition to food pantry assistance, CFCS provides support for seniors, offers homelessness prevention services, emergency management, help for veterans, support for children and more.

The Bishop’s Annual Appeal supports the vast, far-reaching and important works of CFCS and all the Catholic Charities agencies.

Under the theme, “Here I am, Lord” the 2018 Bishop’s Annual Appeal will also help the Diocese’s other Catholic Charities agencies — Straight and Narrow and the Department for Persons with Disabilities, urban area diocesan elementary schools, diocesan seminarians and the extraordinary healthcare needs of priests, as well as Nazareth Village, the diocesan priests’ retirement residence in Chester.

“Many of the people who are served in our food pantries are the working poor,” said Christine Barton, executive director, of CFCS. “Despite having one or more jobs, they still are unable to make ends meet and rely on the food pantry for support. Food insecurity is a major issue in our country, especially in our region, where the cost of living is so high. Those who come to our food pantry often have to make difficult decisions about which bills to pay. At least with the support of Catholic Charities food pantries, we can assure that they will not go hungry,” she said.

Catholic Charities operates food pantries in each of the counties the Diocese serves, in Morris County, Hope House Food Pantry, Dover; in Sussex County, Partnership for Social Services Food Pantry and Thrift Store; and in Passaic County, the Father English Food Pantry in Paterson.

The Father English Food Pantry uses a “shopping point” system based on family size, which has given its clients dignity by allowing them to “shop” and personally pick out the food items they need or prefer, just as they would in a commercial supermarket. The pantry was one of the first to use this system. Clients typically leave the food pantries with enough food to feed their family for one week. They are required to provide some basic information including household income to assure that the food bank resources are going to those in need.

Funding and supplies for all of the food pantries are provided by private donors, parish collections, church and community food drives, the Community Food Bank, FEMA and some county funding. The Catholic Charities food pantries also receive generous donations from the Corpus Christi Food Drive, typically held in May/June of each year. The Diocese’s Corpus Christi Food Drive stocks the food pantry for the summer, a time when donations tend to drop off but needs remain high.

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 food pantries.

Carlos Roldan, director of the Catholic Charities Food Pantries, said, “We offer more than just a meal, more than just some canned goods. Catholic Charities offers guidance, support and Christ’s love. We help restore dignity to people who are down on their luck. We give our time to those who come in our pantries and try to help them in all areas of their lives. We are thankful to be able to do the important work we do.”

To learn more about the work of Catholic Charities, pastors are invited to have a representative of Catholic Charities speak at weekend Masses on behalf of the BAA. This personal visit provides parishioners with insight into all the work of Catholic Charities and shows them why their support of the Appeal is so important. The faithful are also welcomed to see the work firsthand at many of the Catholic Charities agencies. Simply visit, www.ccpaterson.org to arrange a visit.

There are several ways to give to the Appeal: a one-time gift or a pledge paid over several months with reminders sent; credit card contributions; online gifts to

www.2018appeal.org; or a gift of securities.

Scott Milliken, chief executive officer of Catholic Charities, said, “We are so incredibly blessed by the support of parishes throughout the Paterson Diocese for their constant support of Catholic Charities food pantries and for their generosity to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. We are able to feed so many people during the holidays and all year thanks to your kindness and love.”