St. Clare Parish aims to feed 60,000 families
OAKLAND TWP — Dozens of volunteers took time out of their Sunday afternoon to help those truly in need on Sunday, Sept. 28, when St. Clare Parish and Cross Catholic Outreach teamed up to hold a large food packing event at St. Wendelin Church in Oakland Township.
The goal was to pack 60,000 meals for needy families — 6,000 for families in the Western Pennsylvania area, and 54,000 for families in developing countries in Central and South America.
St. Clare parishioner Jenn Burke, a member of the parish’s Christian Mothers and Women group, helped coordinate the event after being introduced to Cross Catholic Outreach, a Catholic nonprofit based in Boca Raton, Fla., that specializes in providing donations of food and shelter to families in need.
“They have come to our parish to talk to us before about their projects and their goals to feed the hungry people in the world,” Burke said. “So I reached out to inquire about hosting a food-packing event at our parish. And that's where it all started.”
“The Christian Mothers reached out to us because they had found out about these kind of events and they felt like their community could get together,” said Jorge Morales, volunteer engagement coordinator for Cross Catholic.
Burke saidthe money for the food packed on Sunday amounted to $23,000, which was raised by members of the parish as well as local businesses that agreed to come on as sponsors.
“Every cent that was donated by the parishioners in our church and local businesses ... every single cent of that money went toward feeding the hungry people,” Burke said. “Every dollar raised is able to feed three people.”
The volunteers packed two types of boxes — one for local families and one for international families. Both contained mostly the same components, including vitamins and soy.
Where they differed was their main component. The international meals contained rice and beans, while the local meals contained mac and cheese.
“The reason for the mac and cheese is because they're more widely accepted by individuals here in the States rather than rice and beans,” Morales said.
Both types of boxes were packed in a rigorous, assembly-line style which involved at least 10 people working together in assigned roles.
“Every participant has one position, and it's basically an assembly line where we utilize funnels and measuring cups for each one of the food materials,” Morales said. “They’re poured into the funnel, into these small bags that contain six portions of food. Once those are done, they’re weighed to a specific weight to help with the nutrition, then sealed and packed so that they can be shipped internationally or locally.”
Thirty minutes after the packing started, Morales proudly announced to the volunteers that they had already packed 6,500 meals — over a tenth of their goal.
“That’s what happens when you do things as a community,” Morales said to the crowd. “That’s why we need each other.”
Although the exact number of volunteers that showed up on Sunday was not available, Morales estimated around 175. During the event, he said the actual total of volunteers who arrived was far more than expected, with a full 12 able to man each filling station instead of the minimum of nine.
“At some point we weren't sure if we were going to have enough volunteers,” Morales said.
