The Catholic Charities Therese Cervini Annex HS Early Childhood Development Center in Queens recently hosted Food Distribution in Action, an initiative to help families in need this Thanksgiving season. The generous contribution was made possible by two wonderful folks from the community, Bridgeta Celano and Catherine Reyes. Ms. Celano has been a Thanksgiving donor for three consecutive years and always opens her heart to families in need. This year she kindly donated twenty three turkeys and dry goods. Ms. Reyes and her organization Precious Spirit was instrumental in providing food boxes to our families last summer during the start of the pandemic. Her organization is made possible through generous donations of surplus foods from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and her organizations continues to feed community members in need. Ms. Celano and Ms. Reyes’ kindness and generosity is greatly appreciated.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Since the pandemic began, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens has witnessed a 1000% increase in food requests and has provided much-needed food packages and services at the 20 Catholic Charities parish-based food pantries and an additional 27 affiliate pantries located throughout both boroughs. In total, the agency distributed over $400 million in food assistance in 2020. In addition, Catholic Charities witnessed a 37 percent increase in clients in 2020, and continued to deliver mental health counseling, housing services, family services and early childhood education.