Franciscans Deliver Food, Faith Packed Together

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At precisely 9 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, the sound of the shuffling of shopping bags along with the exchange of “thank you” and “you’re welcome” can be heard at the food pantry located at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Manhattan.

That’s when Franciscans Deliver opens.

The delivery service is an addition to the familiar Breadline operated by the Franciscans of the Holy Name Province for 85 years. Since beginning, the deliveries have more than doubled from 30 to 70 a week.

Father Paul Lostritto, O.F.M., is executive director of the Franciscan Bread for the Poor Inc., which includes the Breadline for the Poor and Franciscans Deliver.

Franciscans Deliver began the weekend before Christmas three years ago and includes the delivery service and a walk-in food pantry.

The idea for Franciscans Deliver came to Father Lostritto when he was visiting a friend who lived in an apartment building. Walking down the hall, he saw a person he described as “depressed and skinny.” By asking questions, he found out that the person was barely making ends meet and had to choose to pay for medication or buy food.

“You don’t really see everyone who is poor. They have a roof over their head, but no food in their fridge. They are struggling,” Father Lostritto said in an interview last month at the Franciscans Deliver food pantry.

Franciscans Deliver addresses the problem. People in need come in and register and are given a list of foods from which to choose. In a few minutes, they receive a grocery bag filled with those items after volunteers pack the bags by hand in a separate room. About 100 walk-ins are served each day, including people on a fixed income, the elderly and those in trying situations.

About 70 volunteers assist Franciscans Deliver. A dozen or more people serve each day in an alternating schedule.

Deliveries are also made to those who find it difficult or impossible to leave their home. Each person who volunteers to deliver must pass a background check.

Volunteers receive a list from each person accepted into the program to receive food and then pack the bags and load them into shopping carts they wheel through the streets of Manhattan to each location.

Most of the deliveries are made to residents of Penn South, a co-op housing development between 8th and 9th avenues and West 23rd and 29th streets. Deliveries are also made to other residences, and to The Dwelling Place, a local women’s shelter.

Generally, the food includes meat, fresh produce, eggs, milk, canned vegetables and boxed items like cereal or biscuits. The items are purchased with money from donations. Like the walk-ins, each person is given a choice of foods. The choices afford each person with more dignity and also cut down on waste, Father Lostritto said.

Asked about the reason for the program’s success, Father Lostritto said, “It’s our faith in action. It’s what Jesus wants us to do.”

The desire to do more in the community brings volunteers.

“I originally got involved with the Breadline about five years ago during Lent,” said Carol Derby, a parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi. “I loved the concept of what the Franciscans were doing, which is helping the poor and needy, so when I saw (Franciscans Deliver) in the church bulletin, I knew I wanted to do it,” she said.

Her commitment over the past three years has been enhanced through the connections she’s made with the other volunteers and with participants themselves.

She also has had a valuable lesson inscribed in her soul. “Never judge people by how they look, dress or speak. You don’t know what someone is going through. It’s not our place to judge. We just give with an open heart,” she said.

Robert Conkling, another St. Francis of Assisi parishioner, has also been involved with the program from the start. “It surprised me how much this particular ministry affected me,” he said. The camaraderie with fellow volunteers goes beyond the walls of the food pantry into social friendships, he said.

Robert and Carol strolled with a shopping cart full of groceries from the church to the residences marked on their map, all of which they had visited before, for their deliveries.

One delivery was made to Sylvia Mendel, a well-spoken and graceful woman who readily shared her life story. With great emotion, she told how much the deliveries meant to her and said, “It’s beyond the food.”

“I did not feel like going out,” she said. She noted that the past year has been especially hard because she had a fire in her apartment last December. The food deliveries and the fact that she has choices of what to eat are very important because she does not like to cook in the oven. She also appreciates the interaction with the volunteers.

“We can chat a little bit,” said Ms. Mendel, who said she is grateful for “the whole idea that the church is doing this.”

After making the delivery, Conkling said, “I’m grateful to this ministry. It has absolutely given back more than I’ve given.”

Another delivery went to the home of a 100-year-old woman with dementia. Her home health aide accepted the food. The aide, Shurland Perry, said, “I look forward to this every week.” Not only is the woman in her care assisted by the meals, Ms. Perry said she also benefits.

“I have been through a lot of hard times in my life and Robert and Carol always lift my spirits,” she said.