The Diocese of Camden’s Third Annual FaithFULL Food Drive held throughout South Jersey on Sunday, March 6, collected 138,991 pounds of food – the highest total in the drive’s history, surpassing our goal of 125,000 pounds.
The items collected will support of Catholic Charities, the Food Bank of South Jersey in Pennsauken, the Community FoodBank of New Jersey in Egg Harbor Township, and the many parish-based food pantries who partnered on this project.
The success of the FaithFULL Food Drive can be directly attributed to the effective work of parishes, schools, individuals and groups, including the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, youth ministries, student organizations and the Knights of Columbus.
“I was so glad that we passed our collection goal of 125,000 pounds, but I wasn’t surprised,” said Mike Jordan Laskey, director of the diocese’s office of Life & Justice Ministries, which coordinated the drive. “The Catholics of South Jersey never hesitate to step up when called upon to serve their brothers and sisters in need.”
Feeding the hungry is first among the Corporal Works of Mercy, and Pope Francis has invited us to make a special effort to practice these works during this extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.
In South Jersey, hunger is a critical issue in many communities. One in six people in the Diocese of Camden is food insecure, including one in five children. Confronted with this challenging statistic, our Gospel call to take action is clear: whenever we feed someone who is hungry, we feed Christ himself (Matthew 25:31-46).
“As we continue to celebrate this Holy Year, let us never cease to be mindful of those who face poverty and hunger, and pray for the Holy Spirit to ever increase our compassion and generosity. Mercy is more of a verb than a noun, after all, and the record-breaking success of FaithFULL is one very positive response to the Holy Father’s invitation,” said Bishop Dennis Sullivan.