St. Eleanor Parish to host drive-through food drive
COLLEGEVILLE » St. Eleanor Parish will be hosting a food drive to benefit those in the greater-Collegeville area who are most in need. The drive, which is being sponsored by the teens of the St. Eleanor Parish Youth Ministry, will take place on Feb. 5-6.
“By hosting this drive, we hope that the less fortunate of our community will be able to benefit greatly from the generosity of those in the Collegeville area,” said Father Alessandro Giardini, parochial vicar at St. Eleanor Parish. “Over 100 young people will be volunteering their time on that weekend to help collect, check, organize, box, and deliver the food donations. We hope that this service opportunity will both teach them the importance of service and to be grateful for all they have been blessed to receive,” he said.
The food will be donated to four local food pantries. The St. Vincent DePaul Society Food Pantry at St. Eleanor in Collegeville, the Daily Bread Food Pantry in Collegeville, Spring-Ford Project Outreach in Royersford, and the St. Vincent DePaul Society Food Pantry at St. Mary’s in Schwenksville will all receive food items.
The local pantries continue to see local neighbors who need food assistance. They rely on the generosity of the community to meet those needs. There are heartbreaking circumstances right here in our own community; but practical, compassionate personto-person caring can make a world of difference.
“It seems, more than ever, more people of our community are in need,” said Matt Kirsch, youth minister at St. Eleanor Parish. “By donating non-perishable food items to the drive-through food drive, members of the greater-Collegeville community can make a big difference in the lives of their neighbors in need.”
“Food donations can have significant positive impacts on families who are struggling to make ends meet especially in a time as trying as the one we are living through now,” said Cameron Gonteski, a young adult leader who volunteers with the St. Eleanor Parish Youth Ministry program. “Food donations can provide nourishment that enables a student to excel at school among his or her peers or helps a senior citizen offset expenses so she can afford her medication.”
The food drive, now its 11th year, will feature a drive-through drop-off. This will allow for a contactless donation process. Simply drive to the back parking lot of the church, follow the signs, and a teenager will remove the donations from your vehicle.
Donations can be dropped off on Saturday, Feb. 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday, Feb. 6, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Eleanor Church is located at 647 Locust St. in Collegeville.
For more information about the Food Drive, visit the church website at https://tinyurl. com/4f5ykex3.