‘Backpack food program’

PATERSON  In a gallon-size Ziploc bag, large enough to fit into a school backpack, various food items are stored to feed a young child for the weekend.

For 10 years, these bags have been sent home in the backpacks of kids to alleviate a great need to so many families in the city of Paterson. The bags help Catholic Charities in its mission to make sure every child served at its preschools never goes hungry. Through Diocesan Catholic Charities “backpack food program,” multiple parishes and organizations have purchased the food and put together the food packs. Often, children attending the early learning centers of Catholic Charities depend on the school meals for nutrition.

Joseph Murray, director of Early Learning for Diocesan Catholic Charities, holds a prayer in his pocket to St. Benedict that makes him think of all those who help with the backpack program. “They do this work with genuine love and, though they do not always get to meet our students and families, they receive and serve them as Jesus Christ,” he said.

Students at El Mundo de Colores, El Mundo del Nino, Friendship Corner II and La Vida III, all in Paterson, receive the food packs. According to Catholic Charities, the need for food is greater near the end of the month when families have exhausted much of their resources for food. Typically, the packs include child-friendly food that is non-perishable and easy to prepare such as macaroni and cheese, rice, beans, soup, fruit cups, snacks, milk and pastas. Canned tuna or chicken are also included for the parents as well. With the COVID-19 pandemic, though many schools are closed for in-person learning, the collection continues.

Through the years, several parishes have participated in making the food packs. Those parishes are Corpus Christi, Chatham Township; Christ the King, New Vernon; St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Flanders; St. Jude, Budd Lake; St. Luke, Long Valley; Our Lady of the Mountain, Long Valley; St. Mark the Evangelist, Long Valley; St. Lawrence, Ches­ter; Our Lady of the Magnificat, Kinne­lon, and St. Catherine of Siena, Mountain Lakes.

Karen Kemmerer, a parishioner of Corpus Christi, has coordinated the effort for the past decade. “When I delivered the bags and saw those little kids, I was overwhelmed,” she told The Beacon. “Through the years, the parishes have told me they get a lot of joy out of doing it and at most of the parishes it is kids that are helping kids. That’s another wonderful part of the program as well.”

At Our Lady of the Magnificat (OLM) Parish, the Confirmation students have put together the bags through the years with the Knights of Columbus Council 14493 purchasing the food. Two times a year, the students put together more than 100 bags for the children.

Grace Davin, director of religious education at OLM, said, “Through the years, it has been a teaching moment for us at OLM with the teens. They learn about how right down the street there are kids who do not always have food. It changes them to learn this and they are happy to provide food for kids for a weekend.”

The Order of Malta has also been actively involved in the program supporting La Vida III Early Learning Center. Current enrollment is 150 3- and 4-year-olds. Sue and Bob Nameth coordinate the effort among the Dames and Knights of Malta. “It’s tough that there is this type of need when you think of a 3- or 4-year-old going hungry,” said Sue Nameth. “The Order of Malta is proud to fulfill part of our mission.”

Due to the pandemic, the Order has included a learning book for the children in the packs. “In addition to the food packages we added an age appropriate book for each child as we were concerned that there would be little exposure to books while school is closed in the city of Paterson,” Robert Sameth said. “The books are wrapped as a gift in the hope that the children will feel they have received something special.”

“The students love to receive the packs of food,” Murray said. “When being picked up by their parents at the end of the school day when packs were distributed, students would run to the teacher asking for the food to put in their backpack. They were so excited.”

Catholic Charities is grateful for the effort being made by these parishes and the Order of Malta that support the backpack program. If other parishes would like to help with the program, they are welcomed to contact Catholic Charities.

“It is so heartwarming to see the parishes come together to support our children and their families,” Murray said. “It is through their love and generosity that we are able to live our mission.”