Turkeys and Stuffing and Cranberry Sauce! Oh My!

Wow! What a wonderful day we had at the pantry this Thursday. After a very early start preparing bags we began distributing turkeys and fixings right on time at noon.

Just before we got underway the line of persons coming to receive help stretched all the way from where the truck was parked on Nye Street at the back of the church down past the rectory to Acushnet Avenue. A short time later the line had grown even longer and was wrapped around the corner along the Avenue past the church steps to Bullard Street. By 2:30 when the line was finally finished and we were wrapping up some 400 people had received thanksgiving food.

None of this would not have been possible without the generosity of those who contributed food and money, the hard work of volunteers, as well as the patience and good spirits of the pantry patrons. Thank you and bless you all.

Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive

Before and after all Masses on November 13-14, there will be a food drive for the parish food pantry led by the dedicated women of the parish SALT group. Please consider bringing with you to Mass this weekend non-perishable food items like cranberry sauce, canned gravy, instant potatoes, pie filling, stuffing mix, cake mix, cake frosting and muffin mix. There will also be baskets to leave monetary donations or food cards that will help to purchase turkeys and other needed foods.

November Food Deliveries

Upcoming food delivery dates and times for the pantry this month are Tuesday November 9 at 12:15, Wednesday November 10 at 1:15, and Wednesday November 17 at 1:15.

Helping unload and store the cases of food and produce received in these deliveries is an excellent opportunity to invest in service to God and others. If you are available at any of the delivery times for the month of November 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.

A Very Busy October

The pantry was very busy again this month. It is hard to imagine how we could meet the growing need for food assistance without the hard work of our many dedicated regular volunteers ... some of whom are shown in this collection of recent photos.

September Report

On the five Thursdays that the pantry was open during the month of September we provided 4,144 bags of groceries to families that included 958 adults, 78 seniors and 889 children under the age of 18.

Along with these bags of groceries we distributed a great variety of fresh produce including kale, collard greens, green beans, squash, zucchini and onions received from Sharing the Harvest, a farm in Dartmouth in which the Hunger Commission is a collaborating partner.

During September we also served more than 964 meals.

Coats that have been collected for the past several months will be being distributed starting on October 21st

So far 236 turkeys have been donated for Thanksgiving ... yes, that's a lot of turkeys, but we need about 300 more!

And please don't forget that our Blanket Drive will begin November 1st ... we've already received some blankets but we will need many more to help meet the need in our community.

Thank you again to everyone who has donated and to all who plan to donate as well. For further information on turkey and blanket donations please contact Paula Briden, Food Pantry Coordinator, by phone at 508-993-1691 or by email at bpaula1@comcast.net .

Bishop Stang Food Drive

On Monday this week we were at Bishop Stang High School where the National Honor Society students had collected over 8,600 lbs of food donations during their Rock-a-thon Food Drive. Wow!

Thankfully we have a big truck and thankfully the students were there to load and pack the portion of donations allocated for Saint Anthony's Food Pantry. Rock on!

All Saints Catholic School Food Drive

When All Saints Catholic School opened its doors for its first academic school year this fall there was new pavement, new floor, new class lists, and a new school community which combined the students of St. Joseph-St. Therese and St. Mary’s schools. There was also the important continuation of a long tradition of faith-based, values-oriented education and of caring for the community.

A recent food drive to bring awareness of the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables as well as assisting the poor was conducted by the school with food from the drive being given to Saint Anthony's for distribution at our pantry.

The efforts of the students at All Saints show the effects of the education students at the school are getting and these efforts are making a vital difference to the community served by the Saint Anthony's Food Pantry.