The Catholic Food Pantry
Mission Statement
The Catholic Food Pantry is an organization dedicated to providing food on an emergency basis for the needy of the community upon request.
Introductory Information
The Catholic Food Pantry is located at St Mary Church, 715 Jefferson Ave, Defiance, OH 43512.
All area Catholic Churches are asked to support and volunteer at the Food Pantry. The Food Pantry is non-denominational, the only requirement for help is "need".
The Food Pantry is set up as an emergency food assistance source. Anyone asking for assistance is helped. We give enough food for a family to last 2-3 days and they can return as often as needed. We do ask for income category verification. We serve people of all denominations in and around the Defiance area. We are open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm. All the helpers in the Food Pantry are volunteers. Our food comes from individuals, organizations, food banks, and foos drives sush as the Post Office drive and the Boy Scout drive. Many people give money instead of food, which then is used to buy food, often at discounted prices.
History
In 1980 the parish staff discussed the need to further respond to the needs of the poor. Several parishioners were also very interested in helping the poor especially in the area of providing food. The primary fruit of these concerns and meetings was the idea of setting up a food pantry. Everyone involved saw the need for an emergency food service in the Defiance area. At that time many families were hit hard by the recession of the early 80’s. After a lot of organizing and hard work, the pantry first officially opened in November of 1981. A group of parishioners known as the St. Mary Food Pantry Team met each month to make decisions concerning the food pantry. A team still forms the leadership for the food pantry today. The entire team has always operated under the premise that the responsibility and decision making are a shared effort. The pastoral associate is the liaison with the pastor and the parish staff.
Volunteers
The operation of the food pantry relies on its volunteers. The volunteers come from several parishes: St. Mary, St. John, St. Michael and St. Isidore. The volunteers attend a training session during which they tour the food pantry and learn the procedures for greeting the patrons and packing the food to be given away. Besides the volunteers who work in the food pantry and those who serve on the team, there is one person who schedules the volunteers, someone who purchases the food and stocks the shelves, and others who unload the trucks. At the present time we have approximately 40 volunteers. The volunteers are vital to the successful function of the food pantry and are always needed and appreciated. If you would be interested in helping in this important ministry of the parish, please call the parish office for more information at(419)-782-2776.