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Food For Thought Ministry: Living out a Corporal Work of Mercy by Feeding Those in Need
As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops tells us, the Corporal Works of Mercy are ways we can help our neighbors “as if they were Christ in disguise.” One of the Corporal Works of Mercy is to feed the hungry. Here in Grand Island, food insecurity is a major issue — one that often impacts children. The Food for Thought Ministry is a way to live out a work of mercy and meet this need by feeding children throughout the community.
During the school week, children receive a healthy lunch — however, that food isn’t there on the weekends. Sixteen years ago, Verna Haberman and a group of social workers noticed this issue as students were loading up on food at school lunch. So, theysought to bring some relief with a bag full of food to send home with kids on the weekend.
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Holly Boeselager, the homeless coordinator for the Grand Island Public School System, coordinates this group. Each Friday of the school year, students in need receive a bag. The bags are packed by a class at the school and are delivered to other Grand Island area schools by volunteers from St. Leo’s and other organizations.
“Children have no control over if there is food for them to eat or not,” says Donna Douglass, who helps coordinate this ministry at St. Leo’s. “We can impact the lives of children, and maybe even entire families, by helping them get nutrients during the weekends.”
Food is delivered to area schools by St. Leo’s volunteers.
As with many needs throughout our community, the COVID-19 pandemic made the problem of food insecurity more acute. An empty stomach makes it hard to learn, concentrate and excel. This is just one way to give local students a better chance of doing their very best.
Donna invites any parishioner to get involved in this important ministry. Volunteers are needed to deliver the packed bags to a few schools.
“This is one small way to help out families who are struggling to feed their children,” Donna says. “When you deliver these bags and know that you could probably go to your own cupboards any day and fill a bag like that — to the family in need, it may just be all the food that they have. It is a wonderful and humbling experience.”
This ministry is one simple way to give of your time, to benefit those who need it. Donna says we all need to get involved to honor the fact that all we have and earn belongs to God.
“When you share of yourself, you are giving others a little bit of God’s mercy,” Donna says.
