Pew Catholics take command to feed the hungry seriously
A guest of the Brown Bag Café enjoys a sandwich. (Photo by Kiyoshi Grollman/Courtesy of Sonoma Overnight Support)
by Dan Morris-Young | Dec. 29, 2015
Be they called food banks, soup kitchens, food pantries, hot soup outreaches, brown bag ministries or caring cafés, programs that provide nutrition and goodwill are headed by parishes across the nation.
St. Bernard Parish in Akron, Ohio, for example, sponsors an extraordinarily active three-pronged ministry to provide food for the homeless, poor and lonely.
Its Hot Meals Program dishes up more than 1,000 evening dinners every month. An average of about 240 dine in the parish social hall on the third, fourth and occasional fifth Wednesdays and Sundays. Volunteers undergo a special orientation "to learn the ins and outs of the program," organizers explained, noting that students sometimes work with the program to earn school service credits.
Every month, the Akron parish's Pantry Program also supplies more than 300 households with a three-day supply of non-perishable groceries -- and household supplies when available.
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/pew-catholics-take-command-feed-hungry-seriously