Essay: 1,000 Sandwich Bags to New York Common Pantry!

Parishioners of all ages jumped into action on Sunday after the 11 AM Masses to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the New York Common Pantry. The Wallace Hall stage was transformed into a small kitchen assembly line where about 50 people made sandwiches and packed brown lunch bags with granola bars, juice boxes, and fruit.

The mission of New York Common Pantry is to reduce hunger and promote dignity, health, and self-sufficiency for New York City residents who need a helping hand. New York Common Pantry provides nearly 12 million people with meals every year. Due to federal funding cuts to non-profit agencies, our own Catholic Social Teaching outreach is more important in these times. Today, more than six thousand new households have been added to the number that seek assistance from New York Common Pantry.

Especially helpful were George and Harry Lowe and other children who were “sandwich runners.” They brought the bagged sandwiches to the table where brown lunch bags were packed to bring to the pantry.  It was a community effort and conversations and laughter flowed from each table.

Supplies were exhausted in about an hour and fifteen minutes! Fresh Direct bags were packed up and loaded into Alan and Sally Pardee’s Volvo wagon and for the first time in three years all the bags could not fit in their car. Nick and Emily Lowe volunteered their minivan to help transport the rest of the bags. The estimate at NYCP is that 1,000 pounds of food—1,000 sandwiches—were made and donated by the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola!

A heartfelt thank you to all who participated and donated to this event in order to help feed our neighbors.

AMDG.

— Jean Santopatre, Pastoral Associate