Catholic Charities, Cardinal Dolan Kick off giving season with food giveaway amid growing need

Cardinal Timothy Dolan and officials from Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, after Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, kicked off the holidays and the distribution of food for Thanksgiving, including turkeys and trimmings, expected to feed more than 3,000 families.

While Santa may prefer a sled, they spoke near a 21-foot truck with about 7,000 pounds of food parked outside the cathedral after a mass filled to a capacity of around 2,500.

The Thanksgiving food distribution began last week and continues this week, but the event at St. Patrick’s is a traditional ceremony designed to draw attention to the effort and inspire others to join in helping meet the need.

“We filled a food truck with food to feed those without,” Cardinal Dolan said near a truck with the words “Feeding our Neighbors” as well as “Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of New York” and “100 years providing help, creating hope.” “People are in a generous, charitable mood. Catholic Charities does this all year, every day, all the time.”

Cardinal Dolan blessed Catholic Charities’ food to be distributed in the upcoming days as the effort gets up to full speed.

They plan to distribute more than 500 turkeys and traditional fixings on Tuesday at the annual Thanksgiving distribution at the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Community Center in Harlem.

Cardinal Dolan blesses the food.Photo by Claude Solnik

Cardinal Dolan said he was “extraordinarily grateful” for support in their efforts and hopes “to inspire others” to join in helping others.

“Bless us, bless this food we are honored to share. Continue to make our land fruitful,” he said. “Let our love for you be seen, and our pursuit of peace and justice and charity.”

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York is a federation of roughly 90 agencies and programs in the Archdiocese’s 10 counties.

“We’ve been blessed with many donations from private donors and corporations. We’ve been doing this for decades,” said J. Antonio Fernández, CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York. “Every time we run out.”

Although Catholic Charities distributes food all year long, the Thanksgiving distribution includes turkey and trimmings, such as corn bread, collard greens, apples, potatoes, onions, milk and eggs.

“We’ve seen an increase in the number of people needing food pantry assistance,” said Lakisha Morris, division director of food and housing for Catholic Charities for the Diocese of New York. “There’s inflation, the halt in SNAP benefits many were receiving. We’re seeing people income-wise are in need of resources.”

Reps from Catholic Charities address the crowd.Photo by Claude Solnik

As part of its holiday distribution, Catholic Charities plans to provide Halal Thanksgiving turkeys to 100 Bronx families with the Islamic Society of the Bronx, as well as turkeys and trimmings to 750 households through food distribution sites at churches in Morningside Heights, Washington Heights and the Bronx.

They also plan to provide a special Thanksgiving meal for 200 families at the Mitchell Houses in the Bronx, the site of the building collapse back in October.

That’s in addition to emergency meals for 300 households at pantries consisting of lean protein, produce and items that stay fresh on the shelf.

In addition to its holiday efforts, Catholic Charities operates food pantries, does pop-up and home distributions year-round, and provides other services such as case management and eviction prevention

“Collectively, we serve 10 million meals,” Morris said, “hundreds of thousands of families throughout the year.”

They also plan to provide coats, sweaters, pajamas, and winter accessories for 500 individuals and families in need through their annual St. Nicholas Project Shopping Day.

And they are launching their annual Adopt A Family initiative, which invites members of the public to “adopt” a family in need for their holiday wish list and buy winter necessities for each household member.

Fernández said holiday food drives have long been a part of the holiday season for the Catholic Church, emphasizing the importance of giving and doing good while helping those in need.

“Most Catholic Charities do this around the country,” he said. “We are blessed to have and more blessed to give.”