John McAleer and his Convergence Acceleration Solutions (CAS) Group have teamed up with Nutritional Development Services to counter local food insecurity and you can help.
Emergency fund for food pantries more needed than ever, say aid workers
Clients receive food Feb. 3 from archdiocesan Catholic Social Services Southwest Philadelphia Family Services Center, one of several sites relying on an emergency relief fund created by the Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia to meet soaring demand for food assistance. (Photo courtesy of Samuel Abu)
By Gina Christian • Posted March 1, 2021
A year into the COVID pandemic, a charitable campaign has managed to distribute some $282,000 to archdiocesan food pantries – and needs to raise thousands more to meet rising demands for assistance.
Last March, the Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia (CFGP) created an Emergency Relief Fund (ERF) to help restock a five-county network of food cupboards managed by archdiocesan Catholic Social Services (CSS). As workplace shutdowns and layoffs mounted in the pandemic’s initial weeks, client volume at the outreaches soared, with one location reporting a 1
(Edwin José Vega Ramos/Pexels)
By Gina Christian • Posted February 24, 2021
An annual food collection is looking to replenish a crucial network of community food cupboards that have seen “a continued increase” in clients.
Sponsored by archdiocesan Nutritional Development Services (NDS), the Lenten One-Can Meal Food Drive, provides both in-person and online donation options available from now through March 30.
As in previous years, the agency will partner with schools throughout the archdiocese to gather canned meats, soups and beans.
Participants can also select items on the YouGiveGoods platform for purchase and delivery to NDS.
For close to 50 years, the agency has been countering hunger in the five-county archdiocesan area by operating federally funded child nutrition programs and a privately supported network of food cupboards.
Food giveaway draws crowds in ‘moment of evangelization’
A staff member from archdiocesan Nutritional Development Services (NDS) distributes food packages during a Feb. 6 giveaway at Holy Innocents Parish in Philadelphia, one of several such events the agency has hosted in response to rising COVID-related food insecurity. (Gina Christian)
By Gina Christian • Posted February 12, 2021
Hundreds of families lined the streets surrounding a Philadelphia parish last weekend to receive urgently needed food assistance.
“We are seeing more and more of a need, not less,” said dietician Jean Falk of archdiocesan Nutritional Development Services (NDS). “Our numbers (of clients) are just increasing.”
Falk joined dozens of coworkers and volunteers for a Feb. 6 food distribution at Holy Innocents Parish in the city’s Juniata Park section. The drive-through and walk-up event, one of several organized by the agency in recent months, provided some 1,000 boxes of produce, meat and
Rice Bowl is ‘simple genius’ of the Gospel, says bishop
A Rice Bowl container is displayed alongside a basket of food at the Feb. 4 launch of the 46th annual Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl campaign in the Philadelphia Archdiocese. The nationwide Lenten initiative benefits millions in both the U.S. and in more than 100 countries. (Gina Christian)
By Gina Christian • Posted February 8, 2021
A longtime Lenten tradition represents “the Gospel of the Lord Jesus in a bowl,” said a Philadelphia bishop.
On Feb. 4, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia launched its 46th annual Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) Rice Bowl initiative. The nationwide program, which runs from Ash Wednesday (Feb. 17) through Holy Saturday (April 3), combines prayer, fasting and almsgiving to help those in need both in the U.S. and abroad.