“For I was hungry and you gave me food”, Matthew 25:35

In response to a rapidly changing reality due to COVID-19, at the Catholic Charities’ Board meeting on Thursday, March 12th, Bishop McElroy called upon Catholic Charities to organize an effort to increase accessibility for vulnerable populations experiencing food insecurity: low-income families and homebound individuals. As defined in our mission, Catholic Charities witnesses the gospel message contained in Matthew 25; bringing people together to fill in the gaps for the underserved in San Diego and Imperial Counties. At this moment our faith calls us to stand in solidarity with those in need.

In partnership with the Diocese of San Diego, Catholic Charities developed the Emergency Food Distribution Network (EFDN) to deliver food to those in need in a safe, effective, and reliable manner that complies with COVID-19 social distancing requirements. By operating drive-thru food pantries and home-delivered food packages from parish distribution sites, Catholic Charities can feed the most vulnerable populations.
Catholic Charities is well prepared for this unfortunate situation. Food is becoming unavailable to the most vulnerable because of stay- at -home orders, quarantines, loss of employment and retail stores running out of food. Catholic Charities is an essential resource to keep the most vulnerable nourished during this unprecedented time. Food distribution sites will operate weekly with home deliveries to help reach as many people as we can during this uncertain time; and, we hope to offer this service long after the pandemic ends.

Catholic Charities’ Emergency Food Distribution Network is projected to benefit 100,000 individuals within our Diocese in the first 4-5 weeks of the food distribution. We also hope to sustain this food distribution if this pandemic is not over in the next few weeks. Catholic Charities is working diligently to ensure that we are providing as many instances of food that we are able to access during this uncertain time. Food is currently being distributed weekly from 21 different sites to feed as many people as we can with the food provided by local food banks.

Let us put our Faith-in-Action with your time, talent and treasure to create access to food for the vulnerable and those in need who are
hungry and food insecure. Please donate today or sign up to volunteer at ccdsd.org. I pray that our good Lord keeps you, your loved ones, our country and world safe.

Here is a list of the participating parishes by Deanery.

Cathedral Deanery:
1. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart – City Heights
2. St. Didacus – Normal Heights
3. St. Jude Shrine of the West – Mountain View

El Cajon Deanery:
4. St. John of the Cross – Lemon Grove
5. St. Martin of Tours- La Mesa

El Centro Deanery:
6. Our Lady of Guadalupe – El Centro

Escondido Deanery:
7. Good Shepard – Mira Mesa
8. St. Michael – Poway
9. Resurrection – Escondido
10. St. Mary – Escondido

Mission Deanery:
11. Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala- Mission Valley
12. St. Brigid – Pacific Beach

Oceanside Deanery:
13. St. James St. Leo – Solana Beach
14. Mission San Luis Rey de Francia – Oceanside
15. St. Francis – Vista
16. St. Marks – San Marcos

South Bay Deanery:
17. Corpus Christi – Bonita
18. Saint Anthony of Padua – National City
19. Our Lady of Guadalupe Chula Vista
20. St. Charles – Imperial Beach
21. St. Pius X – Chula Vista

 

To Learn More About The Emergency Food Distribution Network – Visit Us: CCDSD.ORG/EFDN