By Tom Panas For The Catholic Week AUBURN — St. Michael Parish in Auburn joined Cross Catholic Outreach to host a food packing event in the parish hall on Nov. 10 and about 129 volunteers packed 40,176 meals to help the hungry in Haiti.
Cross Catholic Outreach will now ship the packed meals to Catholic partners in Haiti for distribution.
Dorothea Dillman, who partnered with Cross Catholic on the event, said, “I have seen firsthand how bad hunger can be and felt led by the Holy Spirit to do this,” adding, “I feel so blessed by the wonderful turnout.”
An estimated 1 billion people go to bed hungry each night worldwide. In the poorest countries, families sometimes go days without food, and 16,000 children die every day from hunger-related causes. In 2019, Cross Catholic Outreach shipped 31.3 million nutrient-rich meals to six countries. This food packing event is an excellent opportunity for compassionate individuals to rally together to help fight hunger worldwide.
When volunteer Barbara Elston was asked why she came to the food packing, she replied, “No person should go hungry. Especially a child.”
Cross Catholic Outreach Senior Director Sandi Pino added, “Cross Catholic Outreach’s food-packing events like this in Auburn are wonderful examples of mobilized Catholics across the United States putting their faith into action. These events provide an energetic and tangible way to engage in this powerful Work of Mercy, allowing the faithful to become the hands and feet of Christ. I’m so encouraged by this outpouring of love and compassion which brings families and communities together to serve the poor.”
Throughout the food packing, social distancing guidelines were followed. Participants wore facial masks. Every volunteer was required to wash their hands with soap and water at the beginning of the shift. People of the same household or social bubble were grouped together. Gloves and hairnets were provided for participants to wear.