•Food is obtained through donations and purchased items.

•We pack once a month for the next month.

•We deliver every Friday during the school year except during school breaks.

•Every Friday the children receive a bag of food that is child-friendly, nutritious, nonperishable, and easy to prepare/eat. Each bag contains enough food for the children to easily assemble breakfast and lunch each day, plus snacks.

I think the program models generosity. A community of church members reached out to a school community that knew essentially nothing about them and brought them gifts of food. It provides a need for our families, but it encourages the children to be independent, self-sufficient. From the bag of goodies, the child can plan on meal and make it. Great life skills. And lastly, I hope the children reflect on it in days and years ahead and encourage them to make an act of kindness or generosity to someone else.

- Jerilyn Price, LaBelle Elementary teacher

Blessings upon blessings: Ministry delivers meals to needy students

Ane constant for many students at LaBelle Elementary School has been the St. Vincent de Paul program, Sharing our Blessings. 

“St. Annʼs sharing goes beyond food, books and supplies,” said LaBelle media specialist Elsa Cheng. “Theyʼre showing our students what it means to be a caring citizen.” 

Hundreds of kids at the Marietta school have benefitted from extra weekend food since this ministry started in 2016. Packages – including breakfasts, lunches and snacks – are meant to sustain students who often donʼt have enough food to get them through a weekend without free school meals.  

“As a former teacher, I understand the impact good nutrition has on the ability for a student to learn, and this organization helps tackle that issue,” said parishioner and Blessings volunteer Mary Lynn Gaughan.  “By volunteering, Iʼve been able to connect to the community, make new friends and give back to those in need.”