On Tuesday, June 25 the volunteers of the St. Mary’s Food Pantry attended the 4th annual Bergen County Food Pantry Summit held at Bergen Community College. It was attended by over 50 pantries as well as James J. Tedesco lll, Tracy Silna Zur and other distinguished guests. They presented statistics on the increased need in Bergen County for food pantries and Mark Dinglasan, Director of the NJ Office of Food Security, spoke about what initiatives the State of NJ is taking to help combat food insecurity in our state. During our breakout sessions, discussions were held about what struggles our food pantries face, what we were most proud of about our food pantries and how we can help each other. St. Mary’s highlighted that at times we run a little short of certain items but what we were most proud of is how our pantry has grown into a community of neighbor helping neighbor. Whether it’s our parishioners donating food or money at our quarterly donation drives, stepping up when we run short of items in demand or our clients helping each other with rides and friendship, our pantry has been able to accommodate 45 to 60 families and senior citizens every month for the past 4 years!

If you would like to learn more about what Bergen County is doing to fight hunger, please visit the Bergen County Office of Food Security’s website, https:/bergenfightshunger.org for more information.

Food insecurity never ceases, and I increasing, especially during the summer month when students do not receive breakfast or lunc from their schools. Currently, our pantry need. cereal, peanut butter and jelly. So from now unti August 18 we will be collecting just these thre items. Please place your donation in the boxes a the doors of the upper church.

We thank you in advance for your constant support!!

God Bless,

Anna, Denise & Lynne