By Emily Drooby
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York hit a major milestone on Thursday, July 29: the organization handed out their 10 millionth meal to the people of New York during the pandemic.
Three-hundred meals were distributed outside of Sacred Heart School in the Bronx. Much of the product came from Goya.
While it was a celebration of a big accomplishment, it was also a sad reminder of just how hard the pandemic has hit the city.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York was on hand to give out food to those in need. Speaking to Currents News, he explained why helping feed the hungry is a very Catholic thing to do.
“To help them, to feed them, to house them, to serve them, to heal them, it’s what Jesus asked us to do,” explained the cardinal. “This isn’t some hobby, this isn’t some nice idea, this is a sacred duty.”
Claudie was in line to receive food along with her grandmother.
“I think that this is a really good action that they do for us, for the people who really need thing kind of thing,” she said.
Along with the food distribution, they had other key services, including social services and vaccination opportunities.
Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of New York explained while this was a big moment for them, it was bittersweet.
“Sad that the pain and the suffering was real,” Msgr. Sullivan said. “Proud that we were there.”
He also told Currents News that while the need is still higher than pre-pandemic levels, it has gone down recently because of other programs like the child tax credit. Because of this, they will begin to scale back some of their food distribution, but will use those resources to help the community in other ways.