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Our new driver, Don, will be available Monday through Friday!     
Remember to send back your response slip as soon as possible if you need a pick-up.
Call Denise Hopkins at 215-895-3470 if you have any questions or to arrange a pick-up.
It is still important to let us know if you are participating even if you are giving your collection to a local food cupboard or keeping it at your parish food cupboard!
Please be sure to box food items! Please use small paper size boxes if possible.
Take a picture of your students and food drive collection, please send them to Denise Hopkins at dhopkins@ndsarch.org.
Please be sure you have parent/guardian permission before you send us pictures, because we may use them in our newsletter or on our social media accounts.
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When people in the Philadelphia region hear the name Rita Ungaro Schiavone, immediately their thoughts go to Aid For Friends, the local non-profit giant that serves tens of thousands of home-bound seniors with healthy meals and friendly visits. Many do not realize that in addition to founding Aid for Friends 43 years ago, Rita also was the founding impetus behind the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Community Food Program back in the early 1970s.

In her work with the Cardinal’s Commission on Human Relations, Rita Schiavone saw the need to assist individuals and families in our area who were struggling to put healthy food on their table. She realized that local people were hungry and in need of help. Rita approached local parishes and schools and encouraged them to organize food collections to assist persons in need. Under her leadership, a network of over 30 food cupboards sprang up to fill the need. Her own parish, St. Jerome, was one of the original thirty food cupboards and continues today to meet the needs of hungry people in the neighborhood of Holme Circle.

Rita was a real pioneer in the anti-hunger field. She saw a need and she realized that as Christians, we are called to feed the hungry and meet the needs of others. She realized early on that we serve the hungry “not because they are Christian and in need” but rather “because we are Christian and are called to serve.” Many of the original food cupboards were hosted in other churches and community centers. It was a truly an inter-faith effort!

Rita moved on from the Cardinal’s Commission in 1974 to found Aid For Friends but left behind a strong program that was later moved to Nutritional […]

The Jubilee Year of Mercy provides all of us with so many wonderful opportunities to reflect, pray, learn and act.

Pope Francis reminds all of us in Misericordiae Vultus, the proclamation that opened the year that Jesus is the “FACE” of the Father’s mercy. Jesus reveals the mercy of God by His words, actions and person.  We follow Jesus’ example when we open ourselves to the Father’s mercy by looking sincerely into the eyes of our brothers and sisters.  This year of mercy gives us the opportunity to reflect:

How have I experienced the Father’s mercy in my life?

How is Jesus calling me to look into the eyes of those in need?

Another way Pope Francis phrases it is “to ENCOUNTER the other.” Who are we called to encounter?  Maybe it’s an estranged neighbor, a cranky relative, a disagreeable co-worker, a teenage son or daughter, a hungry family struggling to put healthy food on their table.

Pope Francis goes on to say: “It is absolutely essential for the Church and for the credibility of her message that she live and testify to mercy. Mercy is “the beating heart of the Gospel.”  To live mercy, we must rediscover both the spiritual works of mercy and the corporal works of mercy.  In this, we’ll focus on feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty, but we can also consider- are these the works of mercy I am being called to practice?  If not, what am I being called to?

Some works of mercy are easier for us than others. One suggestion is to practice a different work of mercy each week or each month.  Pray about it and decide where you need to grow.  Feeding the hungry has always come […]

NDS Community Food Program says good-bye to two of our dearest friends this summer. Sister Marita Jean and Sister Rita Martin are ending their time at the St Francis de Sales Parish Food Cupboard in Southwest Philadelphia. The cupboard closed its doors on July 31st. The sisters first started out at Most Blessed Sacrament Parish and then moved to a storefront on Chester Avenue that was supported by St. Francis de Sales Parish and Father John Hand. The sisters will be missed by all of us who have come to know and love them, especially all their friends on Chester Avenue. A special thanks to Tom and Unc who have helped support the food cupboard for many years as volunteers. We wish Sister Marita Jean many years of good health as she retires to Camilla Hall and to Sister Rita as she begins her new ministry at St. Gabriel Parish Food Cupboard in South Philadelphia. Thank you Sisters for your friendship and hard work! You will be missed!