On Holy Thursday, March 28th, His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan joined Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of New York, to distribute food at the Washington Heights Food Pantry.
At the event, longtime donor and supporter Brian O’Dwyer, Board Chair of The Charles Lawrence Keith & Clara Miller Foundation, presented a $1,000,000 check to support Catholic Charities’ Feeding Our Neighbors Program in its efforts to combat food insecurity and hunger across New York.
The pantry serves approximately 300 households, providing over 20,000 meals weekly on Thursdays. For this special Holy Thursday distribution, Catholic Charities planned to serve over 400 households, distributing culturally appropriate items, fresh produce, dairy, and fish.
Many of the households served are on limited or fixed incomes, and access to certain types of foods has become challenging due to the rising cost of food caused by inflation.
This annual Easter food distribution event highlights the ongoing work of Catholic Charities in serving those struggling throughout neighborhoods across New York City and the lower Hudson Valley. The services are available to anyone in need regardless of religious affiliation, immigration status, or national origins.
Catholic Charities, as one of New York’s largest social service organizations, serves over 400,000 New Yorkers annually through its various programs. This past year, Catholic Charities has provided more than 8 million meals to those in need at its soup kitchens, community pantries, pop-up pantries, and through home-delivered meals to older adults and the disabled.
In collaboration with Catholic Charities’ network of over 40 food programs and soup kitchens, the goal of the Feeding Our Neighbors program is to provide support in addressing the issues of hunger and poverty for so many children, seniors, and adults. Catholic Charities believes that food is the gateway to ensuring that all served are supplied with other resources to help stabilize their lives.
Learn more:
CBS News: Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Christians across New York City mark Holy Thursday
