The tables in one corner of St. Ann’s parish hall were strewn
with plastic sandwich bags, mini boxes of raisins, bags of crackers, fruit
juices and peanut butter containers Aug. 11. On the other end of the hall sat Vacation
Bible School students finishing their own snacks, some still hungry and asking for
more.
They were about to complete a task that put hunger in
perspective.
Amy Strickland, director of faith formation at St. Ann, reminded
the children that there are others who do not have the luxury of getting
breakfast or lunch.
For children relying on meal assistance during the school year,
the summer can mean difficulty getting enough to eat. The Bible school students
worked to help ease that hunger by packing meals for the diocesan Catholic
Charities “Children Feeding Children” program, which began last year.
The kindergarten through fifth-grade students spent the week
working in the parish community garden. “The children understand that the food
is going to the poor,” said Strickland. “We hope (they) will come to understand
that they are not too little to make a difference in others’ lives.”
Strickland said parishioners have been generous in donating food
for the lunch-packing effort. “We thought making lunches for other children
would be a powerful message,” said Strickland.
Rose Schoshinski, a freshman at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory
High School in Washington, volunteers at the Vacation Bible School. “Some of
the kids were shocked to hear that some kids do not get three meals a day and
do not have the privilege of getting food any time they want it,” she said.
Parishes can participate in the program by giving youths a blue
bag with a list of food to purchase and return. Or they can hold an event to
pack breakfast and lunch items in a plastic bag to bring back for distribution
later. The food is taken to the Manassas warehouse of the St. Lucy Project,
Catholic Charities’ food distribution network, and then distributed throughout
the 6,500-square-mile diocese as needed.
Art Bennett, president and CEO of Catholic Charities, said
helping youths get access to food energizes both the children and parents. “One
of the things that make people the saddest is thinking of kids not having
food,” he said. “The kids start to see that faith formation entails getting to
know not only Christ, but their neighbor.”
Patricia Kuntz, parish outreach specialist for the St. Lucy
Project, said other vacation Bible schools and work camps contributed to their
summer food collection this year.
Summer is one of the most critical times for the food insecure,
according to Kuntz. Asking children to participate in this program increases
their awareness and builds compassion.
“For the children, they talk about hunger and start realizing
there are children out there not getting lunch,” she said. “So many times we
are blind to the food insecure.”
After the bags were packed, Kuntz asked the children to put their
hands on their head if they ate breakfast today. “By doing what you did, you
are going to give breakfast or lunch to other children,” she said. “I think we have well over 100 bags for the
children.”
