Feeding the Hungry: Providing during a Pandemic

“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

- James 2:14-17

Because of COVID-19, food insecurity and hunger is touching new people in new ways in Acadiana.

The elderly, the disabled and those with health vulnerabilities either can’t leave or are counseled to not leave their homes. Children who rely on school breakfasts and lunches for week day meals are not in school. Parents are out of work without the paycheck that normally provides for groceries. The furloughed wait on government benefits. Families face unanticipated medical or, tragically, funeral expenses.

People who never thought they would experience food insecurity are facing hunger.

Having to choose between paying rent, utilities, medical bills or buying groceries is indeed a very great poverty.

The situation is compounded because food distribution centers who regularly meet the needs of those experiencing food insecurity face unprecedented challenges in service provision. Distribution center closures, loss of essential volunteer forces, the lessening of monetary donations and difficulty in restocking food supply are just some of those challenges.

In our shelters, Catholic Charities of Acadiana continues to feed the hungry; however it is clear that those experiencing hunger extend far beyond our campus. CCA’s acquisition of FoodNet Food Bank last July was a response to the situation of food insecurity during average times. Now, in this time of disaster, FoodNet responds in a new way with the Seven Day Staples Project. In line with CCAs particular mission to care for the sacred gift of human life, especially the most vulnerable, FoodNet Food Bank answers our Catholic commission to provide for those experiencing hunger in a way that is complementary to other food relief efforts in Acadiana.

Through FoodNet Food Bank, the Seven Day Staples Project assembles and distributes emergency food bags directly to our partner Parish Social Ministries (PSMs) who serve on the ground in communities far beyond the larger population centers of our area. Each prepared bag contains a seven day supply of shelf stable food. In addition, the Seven Day Staples Project offers the option of home delivery to those identified by PSMs as unable to leave their homes to access food by other means.

Upon becoming acquainted with CCA’s work years ago, Bishop Deshotel challenged us to grow the charitable work of Catholic Charities to the far ends of the Diocese. Extending ourselves to support the Parish Social Ministries during this worldwide disaster is one of the many ways CCA is rising up to meet that challenge.

Parish Social Ministries are those small and large organized efforts laboring in charitable works throughout the Diocese of Lafayette. From the Christian Service Center in Abbeville to Our Lady of Victory Food Pantry in Loreauville and so many others scattered throughout the rural areas, Parish Social Ministries are the eyes, ears, hearts and hands of the Church. These ministries regularly and intentionally labor to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, give alms to the poor, shelter the homeless, bury the dead and to visit the sick and imprisoned.

Some PSMs are housed directly within particular Catholic Church parishes. Others are operated and supported by Catholic Church parishes, but are housed in buildings off-site. Still others are ecummenical or community-based efforts which the local Catholic Church parishes participate in and support. All of them provide significantly for the needs of those experiencing poverty throughout Acadiana. In this disaster, our Parish Social Ministry partners are the spokes of the wheel traversing the diocese to feed the hungry; at the same time, we are privileged to act as a hub, offering our support to strengthen the efforts they already engage in so beautifully.

And so, you are invited!

As believers, our faith doesn't simply suggest a compassionate empathy in the face of our neighbors' suffering or need. Our response to faith in Christ compels us to an active charity towards the poor. And so, to feed the hungry is really the work of the entire Church, the Body of Christ.

Scripture and the Catholic Church’s Tradition consistently points us toward active love of the poor. Her Tradition enumerates the “Works of Mercy” (the Corporal Works of Mercy and the Spiritual Works of Mercy) as practical, tangible ways of putting flesh on our faith, of giving hands to our love of God and neighbor. These are works because they require effort, action, labor and response. They extend mercy because through them we come to the aid of our brother who is suffering - seeking to lift him and provide hope rather than abandoning him or further crushing him in his vulnerability. The Corporal Works of Mercy are “...charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his ... bodily necessities.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2447) The first of the Corporal Works of Mercy is to feed the Hungry, including our enemies! (Romans 12:20)

Feeding the hungry is basic. And, when we feed the hungry in body, do we not also feed the soul which constantly hungers for love, for companionship, for being pursued, for being remembered, for being forgiven and for being redeemed? For a body to live - food is essential. For a soul to live - love is essential. And loving God whom we cannot see is made visible by loving those whom we can (1 John 4:20; Matthew 25:37-40).

Will you feed the hungry with us? Help us to provide during this pandemic by supporting the Seven Day Staples Project by clicking here.