Earlier this week I was reading some material from Our Daily Bread and its patrons and to my astonishment saw the photograph of one of our parishioners on the front page. Here was a woman who had attended Mass regularly here at Our Lady of Grace and at the age of 45 became homeless when she was evicted this past March. She had been a legal secretary in Baltimore for some 20 years!
In reading further what I learned is that there has been a noticeable trend at Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen in downtown Baltimore regarding the gender of its guests. While most in the past have been men, there is a decided shift to women guests. In a recent survey of people coming to eat, 20 percent of 623 served that day were women. The majority of the women were middle aged. In individual interviews, a few were asked why they came to the facility and the reasons ranged from being homeless or out of food stamps, to helping feed the children or not having a refrigerator where the person lives.
Our Lady of Grace has done and continues to do its part in assisting those in need of food throughout the year by baking casseroles and providing canned fruits and vegetables, as well as cereals, sugar, and condiments. However it is important to realize that the needs for food for ODB do not diminish in the warm months of summer. In fact, their donations drop as benefactors go away on vacation. Our continued support is crucial.
The following facts regarding the amazing work that ODB does in caring for the hungry of our area are shared as a way of getting individuals interested in contributing by way of casseroles, non-perishable food items, or the valuable gift of time spent serving occasionally at the facility. Serving is an extraordinary way for teens and adults to come face-to-face with hungry people and serve them. It creates a wonderful connection between our love of God and serving our neighbor. With youth home for the summer, it is a great way to do something that can change your perception of those in need and relate directly with them.
Please call Elaine Hagner at the Parish Office if you can donate some time to serve at the facility. Please bake casseroles whenever pans are distributed after Masses; we are assigned months with a 5th Sunday. Please bring in canned goods, paper products at any time and leave them in the shopping cart in the foyer of the church.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
Facts About Our Daily Bread
What Is It? Our Daily Bread is a program operated by Catholic Charities, which serves a free hot lunch daily to the poor and homeless in Baltimore City. The program also serves as a public information resource, with staff and volunteers available to speak on poverty issues to schools and community groups. ODB has been an integral part of the Baltimore Community for almost 25 years, feeding over 5,000,000 people. The doors have never been closed. Even on the day that Hurricane Isabel arrived several years ago, ODB was the only soup kitchen that was open, providing 693 guests with lunch.
Where Is It Located? Our Daily Bread is located at 411 Cathedral Street. The Basilica of the Assumption and the Enoch Pratt Library are its neighbors. It is soon to be located in newly constructed quarters at the intersection of Madison and the Fallsway, downtown.
How is Our Lady of Grace Involved? ODB relies on casseroles and food donations from churches and community groups. Our parish participates whenever there is a 5th Sunday in the month, preparing Zippy Beef Casseroles. The next such Sunday is July 30th.
How Can I Get Involved? ODB operates with a limited paid staff and many hundreds of volunteers to serve our those in need a hot lunch, dessert, and a drink from 9:00am to 1:00pm every day of the year. If you wish to serve on one of Our Lady of Grace’s designated Sundays, youth 13 to 16 years old, please call Deborah Webber; adults please call Elaine Hagner. Both can be reached at the Parish Office. If you cannot serve, but are available to drive the casseroles and food down to ODB, we leave the church parking lot by 9:00am. For assistance in delivering food, please call Marie Crook at 410-343-1723. You would be back to the parish by 10:30am. If you prefer not to bake and freeze a casserole or to volunteer as a server or driver, you can still bring in greatly needed canned goods, especially sugar, tea bags, and paper products. Baked goods are also most welcome.
What’s in It for Me? It is amazing what people say they got out of helping those in need. Why not surprise yourself?
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