Every Sunday, parishioners of St. Bernadette Church in
Springfield drop off canned goods at boxes in the church’s
vestibule.
On Monday morning, volunteers from the parish “Can-a-Week”
program collect the bags of food and line them up on the
floor of the vestibule for distribution after the 9 a.m.
Mass. There are usually three lines of food. Adults exiting
Mass pick up food from the first two lines and take them to
waiting cars in the parking lot. The last line is reserved
for St. Bernadette School fifth-graders. The students come
out of the sanctuary at a slow, respectful pace, then speed
up to grab a bag and whisk it off to the parking lot. Parish
volunteers load the food into parishioners’ cars and drive to
the nearby Ecumenical Community Helping Others (ECHO)
warehouse where they are distributed to the area hungry.
According to Tom Nally, St. Bernadette team captain, there
are about 30 parish team members who help with the
“Can-a-Week” effort.
The program has been in existence at the church for about 20
years, but the group had a revitalization and reorganization
effort over the summer. Team members stand in the vestibule
with tags identifying them as “Can-a-Week” team members and
direct people to drop-off boxes. Announcements in the
bulletin help remind people to bring their canned goods.
“We stress high protein food, like meat and fish,” said
Nally.
The reorganization has helped people realize the importance
of their activity, he said.
One man brings a can of Spam every week now. Nally said that
some of the students don’t know what it is.
“What’s Spam?” Nally heard a student ask a friend.
“I think it’s fish,” was the answer.
Nally tells another story about an older woman who comes from
nearby Greenspring retirement community in Springfield. She
brings one can every week in a plastic bag tied to her
walker.
The group’s goal is 1,000 cans a week. Nally said they’ve
only reached that twice over the last several months, but
interest is rising and he believes that goal can be achieved
and sustained if every family brings a “Can-a-Week.”
