Annunciation Church & Ascension Mission
PARISH FOOD PANTRY FEEDS THE HUNGRY
with Joy
W
e’ve all heard the story of the Good Samaritan — and as Christians, we are all called to be ‘Good Samaritans’ to our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Annunciation Community Food Pantry is one way that we can serve those in need, right here in our local community. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone has found themselves affected in different ways. Many are having difficulty feeding themselves and their families, and our Food Pantry volunteers have been working hard to be a force for good and help as many people as they can. “As Catholics, we’re charged to feed the
hungry,” says Ann Lum, Food Pantry coordinator. “When things shut down, we made a really quick turnaround — we had a phone conference about safety and opened the next week with drive-by service. We have a dedicated group and have spread out all the jobs so we can keep our volunteer volume under 10 and meet all requirements.” For drive-up service, the Food Pantry welcomes anyone who needs food on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. In order to keep contact as minimal as possible, no sign-in is required, and volunteers deliver a box of food right into the vehicle’s trunk or seat. All volunteers wear masks, and the driver and passengers are also asked to wear masks. “We’ve been making 160-165 boxes each week,” Ann says. “For three weeks in August, we did an experimental sign-in procedure, but stopped because it was too much contact. But during that time, we discovered that out of the 301 different names in those three weeks, 185 were people that we had never seen before. It’s a different population — people are now coming to the Food Pantry who had never been here before, who really haven’t needed this before. People are very thankful — it’s a difficult time. All of us at the Food Pantry are really committed to keeping this going, and keeping it open and available for those who may not have other resources.” Food Pantry volunteers shop during the week and make food boxes every Saturday. The boxes also contain items donated both by parishioners and other organizations. “We had four months of wonderful vegetables continued on page 7
If you would like more information about how to volunteer for the Community Food Pantry, or ways to donate, please contact Ann Lum at 808-640-4704 or the parish office at 808-887-1220. 6
