Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake,
This weekend I wanted to highlight the good work of the food pantries at both parishes. There is a great crew of volunteers that make this possible and I know they are always happy to have others jump in. This is a direct way to live out the corporal works of mercy that are meant to define us as Christians. The corporal works of mercy are:
Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked
Visit the imprisoned
Shelter the homeless
Visit the sick
Bury the dead
At St. Mary on the Lake volunteers help one Friday a month from 10:00 am – noon to assist the needy people in the area by packing up food for them. Below are the statistics from the
first 8 months of the year. With the added cost of inflation both the number of people needing assistance and the cost/availability of food through food banks has gone up. For St. Mary on the Lake this year they have been spending roughly $1200 a month to help those in need.
January fed 114 individuals and 32 families (1 new family)
February fed 83 individuals and 27 families (1 new family)
March fed 108 individuals and 36 families (1 new family)
April fed 121 individuals and 34 families 2 new families)
May fed 87 individuals and 27 families (3 new families)
June fed 121 individuals and 39 families (4 new families)
July fed 137 individuals and 50 families (6 new families)
August fed 101 individuals and 31 families (0 new)
In Hudson the food pantry is a cooperative mission among all the local Churches. Run by volunteers from all of the churches, the food pantry is open 11-1 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In December of last year, the food pantry had helped 370 households which came out to roughly 1200 people. This spring we were able to put a new roof on the food pantry after the existing roof had reached its lifespan. For the month of September, the Hudson food pantry will be collecting Dish/Laundry Soap and toilet paper. They can be dropped off at Church and we will make sure they make their way to the pantry.
A huge thank you again to all the volunteers who make this possible! With the difficult economic climate, thank you ahead of time for your ongoing support. If you want to drop off a donation, please put it in a marked envelope and bring it either to the parish office or in the collection and we will get it to the pantries. Your donations go to immediate assistance to families in our neighborhoods.
God Bless,
Fr. Todd
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