Nov. 2, 2023 -- St. Joseph Food Pantry Report

Thursday, November 2, 2023: Households Served – 175; Total People – 673

Autumn-produce favorites, apples and squash, were offered to 154 households supplementing healthy produce choices including bananas, carrots and kale. In addition to Healthy Produce Choices, one per month, we offer fresh fish from a selection of fresh-caught local fish that is in season. The fish is purchased from a local business that sells it to us at reasonable prices. Funds for the monthly fish are provided by parishioners from St. Terese parish in Wrightsville Beach. We can do this, and other additions to our standard service, due to the generosity of several Catholic parishes in the area.



Sometimes in addition to food, we also have the privilege of listening to the issues confronting our clients that make it necessary to need our services. One mother told our volunteer, Francine, that her 15-year-old daughter had complained about terrible headaches during the past year. Doctors said they were migraines, and they were treated accordingly. Then one day the daughter complained of a more painful headache. The mother had a bad feeling about her daughter’s condition but let her go to school hoping that as the day went on the headache would go away and the girl would be fine. Later at school, the daughter collapsed. The cause of the headaches was a tennis ball sized tumor on the girl’s brain. Her daughter had to undergo brain surgery, followed by six months of rehabilitation in the hospital where she had to relearn how to walk and talk again. The woman works at a part time job and was concerned about the cost of the surgery. UNC was able to provide help not only with the medical aspects of this situation, but also with the financial ones. The woman was so thankful for the doctors at UNC for saving her daughter that she wanted to share this wonderful story.

Thankfully not all our clients have tales that are so dire. We have some very talented singers and dancers among our clients, and some directly related to such talent. One gentleman, who came in recently, had the last name of Autry. When asked about it, the gentleman proudly told us he was a direct descendent of Gene Autry, the singing cowboy! He seemed delighted to be asked about his name. 

Sometimes we try to provide food for the spirit of our clients as well as for their bodies. Jesus taught that at the Last Judgment one of the fundamental measures of our lives will be how we cared for people in need. “For I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat."