The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
THE HUNGER TEAM
SouperBowl benefits St. Gabriel Food Pantry, 130 students volunteered at Feb. 1 fundraiser
For more than a decade, the SouperBowl at St. Gabriel’s Church in Concord Township
has preceded the NFL’s big game.
That tradition continued Feb. 1 in the multi-purpose room of St. Gabriel’s School.
Students involved in the Builders of the Kingdom youth ministry programs helped serve soups, bread, salads and desserts. The event helps raise money for the St. Gabriel Food Pantry, which serves 30,000 meals each month to those in need in the Mentor, Concord and Painesville areas.
Youth Faith Formation Director Paul Kelly said there were
Food item donations for St. Gabriel Food Pantry may be dropped off Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
about 130 students volunteering at the Feb. 1 event, which is now in its 13th year. All the food served is donated from area restaurants, about 35 in all, he said.
“It’s exciting for me to see our young people reaching out to serve and help others,” Kelly said. “This is the call of Jesus, to love one another as I have loved you. Young people want to help, and this is something practical they can do.” Carleigh Layman, an eighth grade student, has volunteered at the event the past three years. She said she looks forward to it every year.
“It helps the community
with so many donations,” she said. “It’s nice to serve people.”
The St. Gabriel Food Pantry is an agency of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.
The food pantry first opened in 1978 and is currently staffed by about 65 volunteers.
“It has gone from being open two days a month to its current operation of being open five days a week” Food Pantry Operations Manager Chris Siemen said in a statement.
“The Pantry has been able to do so and continue to serve so many only due to the amazing generosity of the St. Gabriel parish and surrounding community. The community without fail has been exceedingly wonderful in their monetary donations,
and many different ministries of St. Gabriel have supported the Pantry with food drives which have led to numerous and plentiful canned and other food donations. Without the support of St. Gabriel, the community at large and events like the Souper Bowl, the Pantry would not have been able to help as many as we have over the past 42 years.”
Food item donations for St. Gabriel Food Pantry may be dropped off Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to a church news release. Non-perishable items and/ or cash donations can be dropped off at the parish office if the food pantry is closed.
SouperBowl tickets were $10 for adults and $5 for children 6 and older.