Sisters, volunteers see no end to need for food amid pandemic
Jackie Terrasi, left, receives a food package from Kellie Phelan, coordinator of an Hour Children food pantry, Dec. 10, 2020. The pantry, based in New York City, is a ministry headed by Sister Tesa Fitzgerald, a Sister of St. Joseph. (CNS photo/Chris Herlinger, Global Sisters Report)
By Dan Stockman, Chris Herlinger and Soli Salgado Catholic News Service • Posted December 21, 2020
In a time of uncertainty, one thing U.S. women religious and others who have been providing food during the COVID-19 pandemic know for sure is that the number of those who need food assistance has risen dramatically and continues to rise.
Kellie Phelan poses for a photo Dec. 10, 2020. She is the coordinator of a New York City food pantry that is an initiative of Hour Children, a ministry headed by Sister Tesa Fitzgerald, a Sister of St. Joseph. (CNS photo/Chris Herlinger, Global Sisters Report) Dec. 20, 2020 Catholic News Service In a time of uncertainty, one thing U.S. women religious and others who have been providing food during the COVID-19 pandemic know for sure is that the number of those who need food assistance has risen dramatically and continues to rise. Officials from Feeding America, a national network of more than 200 food banks, told The Washington Post they have distributed 5 billion meals this year, and 40% of their food bank clients are people who have never relied on them before.
Hour Children food pantry participant and Queens resident Jackie Terrasi, left, receives a food package from pantry coordinator Kellie Phelan. The pantry, based in New York City, is an initiative of Hour Children, a ministry headed by St. Joseph Sr. Tesa Fitzgerald. (GSR photo/Chris Herlinger)
In a time of uncertainty, one thing U.S. women religious and others who have been providing food during the COVID-19 pandemic know for sure is that the number of those who need food assistance has risen dramatically and continues to rise.
Officials from Feeding America, a national network of more than 200 food banks, told The Washington Post they have distributed 5 billion meals this year, and 40% of their food bank clients are people who have never relied on them before.