On Sunday, March 6, Catholic parishes and schools across the Diocese of Camden will be conducting a one-day food drive to support food pantries across the six southern counties of South Jersey.
This year, the Third Annual FaithFULL Food Drive aims to collect more than 125,000 pounds of shelf stable foods. The items collected will go to the Food Bank of South Jersey (Pennsauken), the Community FoodBank of NJ (Egg Harbor Township), Catholic Charities, and local and parish-run food pantries.
Bishop Dennis Sullivan will kick off the food drive after the 9:15 a.m. Mass at Saints Peter & Paul Parish in Sewell with a blessing of the food collected by parishioners.
“Hunger is an urgent issue in many communities in our diocese. Our Gospel mandate to take action is clear: Jesus reminds us that whenever we feed someone who is hungry, we feed Christ himself,” said Michael Jordan Laskey, director of Life & Justice Ministries for the diocese.
The FaithFULL Food Drive is particularly notable this year, as it takes place during the Jubilee of Mercy, a Holy Year instituted by Pope Francis to encourage Christians across the globe to make the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy part of their everyday lives. Feeding the Hungry is one of the most well-known of the Corporal Works.
Of particular need this year are canned items, such as: vegetables, vegetable juice, tomato products, spaghetti sauce, fruit, apple sauce, fruit juice, tuna fish, chicken, soup, beans, stews, and jars of peanut butter.
The food drive is held in spring because shelves are emptier than usual after the winter holidays. Stats estimated from data provided by Feeding America: 1 in 6 people in the diocese face food insecurity, including 1 in 5 children. Over 195,000 people total in these six counties.
For more information, check with your local parish or go to: http://www.camdendiocese.org/faithfull.
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