St. Rosalie Food Pantry

FOOD PANTRY WILL HELP
HELP THE
NEEDY TO ENJOY THANKSGIVING
Turkey…chicken…ham…potatoes…
carrots…sweet potatoes…peas…
string beans…gravy…canned fruits…
cranberry sauce.
Yes, Thanksgiving Day is less than a week away, and
that means busy days for Mary Andersen, Director of St.
Rosalie’s Parish Social Ministry, and her Outreach Food
Pantry volunteers.
As the old saying goes, ‘Many hands make light work.’
And to Mary, that is the absolute truth.
“Without my staff of volunteers we would accomplish
nothing,” explained Mrs. Andersen, now in her fourth year
of the ministry that was founded in February 1990.
Pat Beninati, left, and Barbara Galvin, teachers at Our
“And all is not accomplished just at St. Rosalie’s. Other
churches in Hampton Bays, especially United Methodist, as Lady of the Hamptons Pre-K, accept food from their
students for the St. Rosalie’s Thanksgiving Food Drive.
well as civic, fraternal and religious organizations are
Left to right are Eoin McElhinney, Tyler Nolan, Kai
involved.
Kinsey and Matthew Chilicki.
“Don’t forget the parishioners of those churches,
members of the organizations and the residents of the towns. Without their donations we would not be able to
do what we do.”
Add to the above the two King Kullen Supermarkets in Hampton Bays which encourage Food Drives for
the Needy.
While the focus is now on Thanksgiving and will shift to Christmas very shortly, Mrs. Andersen reminded
us that the needy must not be forgotten year round.
“We give out 150 to 200 baskets of food a month thanks to the people who donate,” she continued.
“In October alone we went even higher to 280.”
The King Kullen Food Drives were held on Nov. 5 and thanks
to the East End Men’s Group, were conducted to perfection.
“I called them on Oct. 12, gave the date and was told not to
worry about a thing,” continued Mary.
“And I knew everything was in good hands. Boxes and boxes
and boxes of food were collected and now we are busy putting the
holiday baskets together.”
Mrs. Andersen pointed out that over 90 baskets were distributed
for Thanksgiving in 2004 and expects that number to be topped
this year.
“Once again, the volunteers are the ones who deserve the
credit,” she stated. “I try to make the work pleasurable for them
Anne Larkin and Vivian Mangel check out the
and they do the same for me.
food before arranging baskets for each family.
“My goal is to make everything run smoothly.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ the King
November 20, 2005
Volunteers are Pat Castro; Rosemarie Conway;
Marie and Ben DiMonte; Peggy Durand; Joan
McCrave; Pat Farrell; Marge Goeren.
Also, Jane and Vinny Handal; Anne Larkin;
Vivian Mangel; Veronica Kotary; Karin and Jerry
McKenna; Pia Sargi; Linda Finer.
And Eileen Randolph, Pat Richichi, Sonja
Santos and Joan Shields.
The Southampton Kiwanis Club, through
George Skidmore of Skidmore’s Sports and Styles,
Hampton Bays, donates a box of hams for the
holidays.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians give food and
Mary Andersen
a gift certificate each month.
King Kullen accepts Thanksgiving turkey coupons that were donated to St. Rosalie’s by customers.
“And if we have some turkeys left over,” stated Mrs. Andersen, ”the store has agreed to hold them over for
Christmas.”
Food is not the only thing that the Parish Social Ministry is all about.
The pantry also issues vouchers for the Dominican Sisters Thrift Shop in which the individual or family may
obtain clothing and household items.
Money for one-time assistance for rent, utilities, fuel,
transportation and prescriptions also is given.
The Eucharist Ministry Program to the homebound is
under Mrs. Andersen’s supervision. There are 30 Eucharist
Ministers serving the parish.
During the holiday season a coat drive is conducted and
poinsettias are delivered to the homebound during Christmas.
In addition to regular services, information is provided on
other available programs such as eligibility for food stamps.
Other programs are FAN (Food and Nutrition), which is
sponsored by Catholic Charities and funded by New York
State. It provides food for low income mothers with children
less than six years old, pregnant mothers, and post-partum
mothers at mobile sights.
Another program is W.I.C. (Women, Infants, and
Volunteers, left to right, Ben DiMonte, Peggy
Children), providing supplemental foods, nutrition education, Durand, Marge Goeren, Vivian Mangel and Pat
and health care information.
Farrell, play key roles in arranging the food baskets.
“Since 2004, I have seen many changes in St. Rosalie’s
Food Pantry,” concluded Mrs. Andersen. “Each year as the town grows the support and generosity grows
with it.
“This year donations have doubled since last year and new businesses are contributing more to the pantry.
Starbucks donates bagels and cake. The Rotary Club donated diapers and several local residents donated large
volumes of toys and blankets.”
In 2005 the pantry also participated with many outside programs---Island
Harvest; Have a Heart Foundation; and our own Sarah’s Closet Coat Drive and
Elizabeth Ministry, to support the women, men and children in need of services.
“What has been accomplished in the last few years has been the smooth
transformation of a small food pantry to a Parish Social Ministry which has
taken on broader responsibilities and services. In essence, today’s programs are
the plans of the future.”
November 20, 2005
Our Lord Jesus Christ the King