This year’s Lenten food drive runs Wednesday, February 14 – Tuesday, March 26, 2024.
Nutritional Development Services (NDS), an agency of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is hosting its annual “One-Can Meal” food drive to enable broad and meaningful participation in the Lenten season.
For over 35 years, NDS has hosted this Lenten food drive as a way to help fulfill this liturgical season’s call to prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. Last year, NDS collected approximately 25,000 pounds of non-perishable items through this initiative to benefit hundreds of food-insecure families and individuals in our area.
Those interested in supporting NDS’ Community Food Program and our neighbors in need can purchase canned goods, snacks, and more online through You Give Goods. Those interested in donating items directly are asked to please contact Ms. Denise Hopkins, at [email protected].
All goods donated now through Tuesday, March 26th will help stock the shelves of NDS’ network of 50 food cupboards throughout the Greater Philadelphia region including five food cupboards operated by Catholic Social Services, five soup kitchens, and numerous community outreach programs.
NDS is also partnering with elementary and high schools throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as well as Parish Religious Education Programs (PREP) to organize collections within their school communities. Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to collect non-perishable “one-can” meal items to benefit those in need. Examples include ravioli, beef stew, and corned beef hash among other options.
To further help those in need this Lenten season, faithful can also participate in Rice Bowl, an initiative of Catholic Relief Services (CRS). This faith-in-action program provides a tangible way to incorporate prayer, fasting, and almsgiving into our Lenten journeys. A quarter of all donations made to Rice Bowl support NDS and are used to combat hunger and poverty locally. For additional information, please visit http://archphila.org/crsricebowl/.
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Editor’s Note: For over 50 years, NDS’ mission has been to serve children and those in need with healthy food and food-related resources. NDS accomplishes its mission in two distinct ways: by administering the federally-funded child nutrition programs and through the privately supported Community Food Program. For more information about NDS, please visit http://nutritionaldevelopmentservices.org/. NDS is an equal opportunity service provider.
Archdiocese of Philadelphia
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Katie Rogers
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215-587-3747 (office)