St. Anthony’s meets increased food need amid COVID-19 

Home City News St. Anthony’s meets increased food need amid COVID-19 
St. Anthony’s meets increased food need amid COVID-19 
St. Anthony’s Catholic Church has seen a large increase in demand for their donated food. Courtesy | Facebook

Since the COVID-19 pandemic reached Michigan, St. Anthony’s Catholic Church has seen a large increase in demand for their donated food.

Before March, St. Anthony’s Family Center fed about 40 families per week, according to Shelly Taylor, who directs the Family Center and the food pantry. Now, that number has almost doubled; in a normal week, the Family Center gives out enough food for 80 families.

The Family Center distributes food twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. “One day we had 50 cars lined up,” Taylor said. Some cars take two or three families’ worth of food and deliver it to families who don’t have reliable transportation.

Along with handing out food, Taylor asks each person in line if they have something they want the church to pray for. She writes them down in a large book that is read and prayed over at every mass. Taylor also prays with the person right then and there if they ask her to.

The prayers people ask for vary widely. One grandmother asked Taylor to pray that her grandson wins his football game. Another asked her to pray for a family member hospitalized with COVID-19. “They’re all needy,” Taylor said. “They all have struggles. There’s always stuff.” 

Taylor addressed everybody by name, and it was clear she had met them all before. She also mentioned that none of the families to whom St. Anthony’s provided food were parishioners of the church. 

When the pandemic hit, the Family Center started delivering food. It had to configure a new way, since delivery took too long, so the center resorted to a car line. Volunteers bring boxes and put them into the cars. Those who receive food don’t even have to leave their cars anymore.

Before the pandemic, the Family Center hosted a weekly luncheon. Everyone was welcome and everything was free. These events were lively, Taylor said, and it gave members of the church a chance to interact with the larger community.

While lots of people came in for the food, Taylor said many of them came for the spirit and conversation. While volunteers prepared food for the family, Taylor would sit with them and talk about whatever they were struggling with. “It was therapeutic for them,” she said.

Because of the new distribution method, the Family Center is often short on volunteers. The ones it has reliably tend to be older, and Taylor said she doesn’t know why. Last Friday, the Family Center couldn’t deliver any food because it didn’t have enough volunteers. “We have a few people out with illnesses or getting surgery or on vacation,” Taylor said.

Carol Betts, a volunteer at the Family Center, said she doesn’t attend St. Anthony’s but got involved three years ago through a friend who told her they needed help. “After my husband passed, I needed something to do, and I like this a lot. It’s fulfilling,” she said.

Ed Giron, another volunteer who found out about the Family Center through his involvement with the Knights of Columbus, said he’s been volunteering there for more than three years. Since he started, the amount of food they give out per week has quadrupled, he said.

Altogether, the Family Center gives out about 12,000 pounds of food per month. It purchases half through a food bank and gets the other half donated by Walmart in Jonesville. “Since COVID began, the food bank has a lot of discounted and free food that we take advantage of,” Taylor said.

Fred Yaniga, chairman and associate professor of German, also volunteers with the group. “The goal isn’t so much the food,” he said. “Our goal is to spend time with people.”