TRUMBULL—The Parish of St. Catherine of Siena will host another in a series of contact-free drive-through food drives to support area food pantries. This food drive is timed specifically to meet the increased demand for services always present during summer, together with emergency needs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The drive-through food drive will take place in the parking lot of the church on Saturday, May 16, from 9 am until 12 noon. All donations of food will be delivered directly to the Trumbull Food Pantry, as well as the following organizations in inner-city Bridgeport: Blessed Sacrament Parish, Saint Charles Borromeo Parish, Saint Mary’s Parish, The Convent of Mary Immaculate, The Thomas Merton Center, The Missionaries of Charity. Demand for services at area organizations has skyrocketed since the COVID-19 crisis began. Social distancing guidelines will be followed at all times to protect the health of our donors and volunteers.
Previous events sponsored by St. Catherine’s have been very successful. To date, the parish has delivered more than 150 linear feet of food and more than $7,000 in cash to area food banks. Father Skip of Blessed Sacrament Parish reflects, “We all know that we should try to keep our social distance, but the clients of our food pantry simply cannot resist the temptation to linger after collecting their groceries. For a brief moment, everything looks and sounds normal. From within the safety of our parish house, I hear only laughter and normal conversation. There is joy in being able to provide food for the hungry. God bless you and thank you for that brief moment of joy!”
The food banks’ greatest needs include: soap, toilet tissue, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner, pasta, pasta sauce, canned pasta (ex: Chef Boyardee), rice, beans, oil, coffee, sugar, tuna fish, mac & cheese, peanut butter, canned fruit, canned soups, bread, granola bars, energy bars, pop tarts, apple sauce, small cereal boxes, Gatorade, bottled water, juice boxes, etc. Additionally, the Convent of Mary Immaculate cares for very young children, and is in need of baby food, diapers and formula. (Please no corn, green beans, gravy or stuffing.)
Here’s how it will work: Before leaving home, place food donations in bags in your trunk. Pull up to the front of the Family Center, where food will be collected. No need to leave your car! Open your trunk from the inside of your car. (If your car is not equipped with a means to open your trunk from inside the car, kindly step outside the car to open your trunk.) Volunteers wearing masks and gloves and maintaining social distancing will remove the bag(s) of food donations.
You may also offer a monetary donation for this purpose. In this case, the Social Justice and Charitable Outreach Committee will use all financial donations to buy food which will be divided equally among the three food banks. Please make any checks for this purpose payable to St. Catherine of Siena, and write FOOD BANKS in the memo line.
The drive-through food drive is organized by St. Catherine’s Social Justice and Charitable Outreach team, led by Salvatore Spadaccino. Other initiatives that the Social Justice & Charitable Outreach Team has worked on include: toiletry drive, school backpack drive, Thanksgiving food drive, annual Parish giving tree, pro-life baby shower and more.
(For more information on the Social Justice and Charitable Outreach ministry at St. Catherine of Siena in Trumbull, contact Salvatore Spadaccino, coordinator for Social Justice and Charitable Outreach, at caritas@stcatherinetrumbull.com.)
