Food Drives: Helping to Fill Our Pantry and Supporting Our Mission of Serving This City’s Aged Poor
On a recent September morning, we were blessed by a generous delivery from the St. John Vianney Interfaith Food Pantry. A truck bearing their name arrived at our loading dock, bringing with it parishioners Steve Pedone and Dwight Dietrich. They were greeted with smiles from several Little Sisters and PHS supervisor Lorena Maximo. Together, they worked swiftly to unload the truck brimming with essential items, including bottled water, tea bags, coffee, potato chips, fruit cups, cookies, paper towels, tissues, toilet paper, and even much-needed power strips.
“It’s incredible,” Sr. Jeanne Veronique remarked. “We simply couldn’t do for the Residents without the community’s support. Our pantry was getting bare, and I was starting to spend money on items that were so generously donated today.”
As October unfolds, we are reminded of the spirit of holiday giving that surrounds us. Your willingness to share in the care of the aged by donating, offering gifts, visiting with Residents, or volunteering your time, plays an essential role in ensuring that we can continue our mission.
Our Foundress, St. Jeanne Jugan, built the future of her work on an evangelical challenge: to live from day to day, never amassing goods or money, refusing perpetual endowments, and placing all one’s confidence in God.
She traveled the roads on foot seeking alms, food, clothing and other items essential to the Home. If you’d like,” Jeanne Jugan once said to a businessman, “we can share the elderly today; you can feed them, and I’ll take care of them.” Sr. Jeanne Veronique, our begging Sister, continues this 185-year-old tradition by begging for all the needs of our Home.
Support from our friends in the community defrays costs and ensures that we are able to offer more than 110,000 tasty and nutritious meals and 32,850 nights of safe-shelter each year. Moreover, your generosity enables us to have lovely celebrations for Residents during Thanksgiving and Christmas. We are especially grateful to the individuals, local schools, parish churches, and businesses that run food drives and donate everything from canned goods and pies to turkeys and hams, helping to make these occasions joyous. “Thankfully, St. John Vianney will return another day with turkeys,” Sr. Jeanne added with a happy smile.
Our commitment to caring for the aged poor can only continue with the generosity and loving support of our community. The Little Sisters and Residents feel tremendously grateful and blessed by the people supporting our mission through prayer, volunteer efforts, and in-kind and monetary donations.
Please be assured that we will remember each of you in our daily prayers. May God bless you, each and every one!
