James Sweet

By GUY VOGRIN Staff writer

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus talks about the people who will be in the Kingdom with him.

“When you were hungry, you gave me something to eat,” the Lord said about his people. James Sweet of Warren, an active member of SS. Mary and Joseph Church in downtown Warren and president of the parish’s conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, is one of those who help feed the hungry in the Warren community.

“He is a quiet, dedicated man who has taken care of thou sands of people... We be lieve (Jim’s) greatest con tribution to the community is his tireless work operating the St. Mary and Joseph’s St. Vincent de Paul food pantry on a daily basis,” wrote Sandy Pavlic of Cortland and Joanne Siembieda-Barran of Warren, who nominated Sweet for a 2023 Community Star award.

The program, co-sponsored by the Tribune Chronicle and Trumbull 100, recognizes the brightest examples of community service and the people who do those good deeds.

“We believe he is an unsung hero to the people he has served,” the women continued.

An Army veteran, Sweet retired as a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service after 47 years in 2012. The next year, he began volunteering at the food pantry and five years later, he took over the operation of the food service, becoming its fulltime volunteer.

“I don’t feel like I am worthy of it and I am appreciative of the ladies who felt that I deserved the honor,” Sweet said. “I just do what I can to help people.”

The pantry, located inside Warren’s first Catholic parish at the corner of Seneca and High Streets NE, is open five days per week mostly during late morning to early afternoon hours.

Both women who nominated Sweet said he is there every day helping the patrons whom he refers to as “our neighbors.” gvogrin@tribtoday.com

The pantry is stocked through the donations of parishioners and the community, who have donated items through food drives, including the large spring one sponsored by the Post Office, and through dropoff boxes.

Sweet’s work involves picking up donations, sorting and stocking the pantry and keeping the required records.

“He is there before and after we leave. He takes care of buying gift cards, keeping impeccable records and making appointments for people to come in to receive assistance,” Sweet’s nominators said.

Sweet’s relatives remember him being active in the Sweet Family tent during the annual Relay for Life that raised money for the fight against cancer through the years in downtown Warren and at Mollenkopf Stadium. They remember him walking on the track every spring.

“He would be out on the track with a sales pitch, getting people to come to our tent to buy raffle tickets for our baskets,” said his niece, Mary Beth Wyko.

In addition to these good deeds, both Pavlic and Siembieda-Barran remember Sweet meeting people in need at a drug store to help them get their prescriptions filled or buy them other supplies. He also has helped those down and out by obtaining furniture, household goods and clothing from the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store on Niles Road.

“The need is even great er today as many new neighbors find themselves struggling with higher rent, utility and gasoline costs and medication pric es. The need is great so Jim keeps on working,” the women said.