“Since the pandemic, it’s getting very overwhelmed,” Teasley said. “There’s not enough space for the amount of people on the streets.” In the overburdened and underfunded system, the most vulnerable slip through the cracks.
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.