2nd Annual Spaghetti Dinner and Sock Hop

Saturday April 30th is our parish’s second annual Spaghetti Supper/Sock Hop to be sponsored by the food pantry and youth group. Doors will open at 5:30. Dinner will be served beginning at 6:00 and will be followed by dancing to music from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. Costumes are encouraged. There will be a hula hoop competition and bubble blowing contest. Artwork and more has been donated for an auction. Tickets are $8.00 for adults, $4.00 for children (12 and under) and $25 for a family of four or more. Tickets will be available from all youth group members and food pantry volunteers. So get your poodle skirts and saddle shoes back out and come on to the hop!

March Report

On the five Thursdays that the pantry was open during the month of March we provided 3,496 bags of groceries to 874 families that included 674 children. During March we also served more than 964 meals.

At the beginning of March we started the 2011 Feinstein One Million Dollar Challenge and we will be participating in the Challenge through April 30; all donations received during that time period are counted to give us a proportionate share in the money.

Thank you again to the many people who support the pantry either through donations or by volunteering.

April Food Deliveries

Upcoming food delivery dates and times for this month are Tuesday April 12 at 12:15, Wednesday April 13 at 1:15, Wednesday April 20 at 1:15, and Wednesday April 27 at 3:15.

Unloading and storing the cases of food and produce received in these deliveries is vital to the operation of the Saint Anthony Food Pantry. Even though we now have help from the folks at Harmony House we can still use more extra help with these tasks. If you are available at any of the delivery times for the month of April, or at the food distribution times on Thursdays, let us know by calling Paula, the Food Pantry Coordinator, at 508-993-1691.

Please note that you can check for upcoming deliveries and other pantry activity by looking at our calendar here or using the link under "Basic Pantry Information" in the menu on the right.

Bishop Stang Students Help Out

The pantry at Saint Anthony's of Padua in New Bedford usually offers a variety of food products including bread, cereal, canned and fresh vegetables, meat, poultry, eggs, cheese, milk, juice and more each week. However, due to food delivery schedules, types of food donated, or just the numbers of persons seeking assistance one or more of these food items could be unavailable or in short supply on a particular food distribution day. But, thanks to the students of Bishop Stang High School, one item that is sure to be on hand in the next several weeks is cereal. Students at the school recently collected and delivered over 1000 boxes of cereal to the pantry! No, that's not a typo ... they really did bring us over 1000 boxes of cereal. Wow!

Feinstein Million Dollar Challenge

The Feinstein One Million Dollar Challenge is underway again for 2011. All donations, either food or money, received by the food pantry between March 1 and April 30 are counted towards giving us a proportionate share in the Challenge money. And of course all donations in and of themselves are vitally important to stocking the pantry and providing food for the pantry patrons. Your generosity will be greatly appreciated.

Prince Henry Society Brotherhood Award

Last week the Prince Henry Society of New Bedford awarded Paula and Arnie Briden their Brotherhood Award in recognition of the great work our parish food pantry has done.

Upon receiving the award both Paula and Arnie graciously acknowledged that what is being accomplished at the pantry is only possible because of the hard work of all of the volunteers and they accepted the award on behalf of everyone who helps. Father Landry reiterated this in stating that the award was "Not only a tribute to the commitment of Paula and Arnie, but to all those who collaborate with them to make our food pantry do so much good. Congratulations to Arnie and Paula and to all the volunteers at our parish food pantry."

Father Landry also expressed gratitude to the Prince Henry Society "for bringing the hard work of our food pantry to the attention of all its members in this way".

March Food Deliveries

Upcoming food delivery dates and times for this month are Tuesday March 8 at 12:15, Wednesday March 9 at 1:15, Wednesday March 16 at 1:15, and Wednesday March 23 at 3:15.

Unloading and storing the cases of food and produce received in these deliveries is vital to the operation of the Saint Anthony Food Pantry. We can always use extra help with these tasks. If you are available at any of the delivery times for the month of March, or at the food distribution times on Thursdays, let us know by calling Paula, the Food Pantry Coordinator, at 508-993-1691.

Please note that you can check for upcoming deliveries and other pantry activity by looking at our calendar here or using the link under "Basic Pantry Information" in the menu on the right.