August 3, 2023 - St. Joseph Food Pantry report

[This August 3, 2023 report mentions diapers provided by All Saints parishioners, especially the recent Baby Shower drive led by Respect Life.]

• 120 households participated in the Healthy Pantry Initiative at St. Joseph’s by selecting items from a range of fresh produce including cucumbers, zucchini, squash, sweet potatoes, red beets and tomatoes. Marianne and Justin assisted guests filling and carrying bags to cars for incapacitated family members & neighbors without transportation. 

• Food carried to qualifying households by friends or family members is not included in the Healthy Pantry Totals because these households are not on site to personally participate in the selection of healthy foods for their boxes, nor do they have access to tasting samples.

• Maureen and Exie invited guests to choose a dessert from the table of pastries donated by local bakeries.

• Barbara welcomed guests to the sharing table where donated clothes and shoes for men, women, and children as well as household items were displayed.

• Catholic Charities and All Saints Parish supplied diapers for this week’s distribution to children and adults who requested them.

David Weitner offers this story from the Parking Lot of this Thursday’s distribution at St. Joseph’s Food Pantry. 

Quite often when I'm chatting with clients in the parking lot they talk about their latest aches and pains. But I wasn't ready two weeks ago when one of regulars asked me if someone could come out to her car, as her bad leg prevented her from going inside... the lingering result of being dead for nine minutes. "Okay ... wait, what?"

She had gone in for an operation 2-3 years ago (I think) and had actually died on the table and been revived twice. To make things worse, when she was brought back the second time she was paralyzed from the neck down. Through God's grace, her son in his mid-forties cared for her nonstop and, over time, worked with her to recover use of everything except for one balky leg.

There's nothing better than a story like this of faith and perseverance. Being able to help her in her journey with a box of food or a laugh or two in the parking lot makes volunteering all the more worthwhile.