On Feb. 28, St. Maria Goretti Roman Catholic Parish in Hatfield, Pa., held its first food packing event — a day marked by faith, service and joyful community spirit.
Cindy Shepardson, a parishioner and event project leader, explained that she and her husband, Matt, had organized a similar event at their former parish in Colorado years ago.
“I have never forgotten how God presented the opportunity, placed it on my heart, and was with us at each step to bring to fruition a very successful event,” she said, adding, “I am not exaggerating when I say that tears of great joy kept streaming down my face after hosting the event.”
Almost 10 years later, she approached their pastor, Rev. John “Chung” Nguyen, about bringing a Cross Catholic Outreach food packing event to St. Maria Goretti’s.
“We are grateful for Fr. Chung’s ‘yes’ and his support, even helping us set up the day prior and leading us in prayer the morning of our special Lenten event,” Shepardson said.
According to Shepardson, they were greatly blessed with outstanding support, as nearly 275 individuals volunteered to cover two different shifts to work and pack meals. “The response was overwhelming in donations and volunteers! Many generous donors wanted this project to succeed. Their compassion and generosity helped bring the youth and older parishioners together, working side by side to bring Christ’s love to others far away,” she explained.
The day was filled with great joy, singing and celebration as each meal pack was completed. Shepardson shared that one volunteer table turned the packing activity into an adults-versus youth game. Whenever a food bag met the required weight tolerance, the youth would call out “Bingo!” The teams kept score to see how many bags in a row they could pack within tolerance.
By the end of the four-hour event, 60,264 meals had been packed.
“Our meals have already been successfully delivered to the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima, Guatemala. God is so great!” Shepardson rejoiced.
The event united parishioners and offered opportunities for all to contribute. Shepardson concluded, “Prayers, time and treasure were all needed! The beautiful smiling faces in so many photos show the tremendous joy in using our hands and taking action to help our brothers and sisters in Christ. The food packing event, in partnership with Cross Catholic Outreach, provided a wonderful opportunity to make a significant difference in our parish, our community and in the world!”
Hosting a Cross Catholic Outreach food packing event is an excellent way to engage parishioners in our missionary Church’s service to the poor and vulnerable. We supply all the ingredients, packaging and supplies to create Vitafood meal packs to provide nourishment for hungry children and families worldwide. We rely on local parishes and other organizations to pack these urgently needed meals. Last year, we shipped 28.4 million meals to deeply impoverished communities. Visit Crosscatholic.org/pack-food to host a food packing event and bring this life-changing ministry to your parish!
