Giving thanks by giving food: Society of St. Vincent de Paul volunteers serve the needy

CNA Newsroom, Nov 29, 2024 / 12:50 pm

While millions of Americans were traveling or cooking or getting ready to watch a football game, several thousand volunteers with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul were serving Thanksgiving meals to those who needed them. 

“Many communities have a sizable level of poverty, people who just need that helping hand up,” said Michael Acaldo, chief executive officer of the national council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic charitable organization headquartered in St. Louis. 

In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Acaldo said, more than 300 volunteers were scheduled to serve more than 3,000 people at four sites. 

It started in the late morning at Baton Rouge River Center, which included sit-down meals but also a drive-through component since it’s near a highway. St. Gerard Catholic Church was scheduled to kick off its meal in the late morning as well, followed by meals in the society’s dining room in Baton Rouge and at McKinley Alumni Community Center. 

The Baton Rouge society has been serving Thanksgiving Day meals since about 1982, Acaldo told CNA. 

In Phoenix, more than 500 volunteers were expected to serve about 7,000 meals at seven locations, under the direction of executive chef Chris Hoffman, who has worked at the Ritz Carlton and other resorts, said Ryan Corry, chief philanthropy officer of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul there. 

“And his style is that he wants to put dignity and humanity on a plate, every single day,” Corry said. 

Breakfast at the Phoenix dining room was at 7 a.m.; the last meal of the day ended at about 6:15 p.m., he said. In between, there are brunches, lunches, and dinners. 

The major Thanksgiving meal in Phoenix included turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and green beans. 

And, Corry added: “We have the most number of pumpkin pies I’ve ever seen in my life.” 

‘The center of their day’ 

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was founded in 1833 in France by Blessed Frédéric Ozanam and Emmanuel Bailly to help the poor in Paris. The American version was founded in 1845 at what is now the old cathedral in St. Louis. 

Members of local conferences, who are known as Vincentians, serve more than 5 million people a year in the United States, according to the organization’s national council. 

On Thanksgiving, organizers of the meals say they appreciate the time volunteers take on what is one of the quintessential family-gathering days in the United States. 

“Thanksgiving Day is a wonderful day to be with family and friends, and those who are taking their time or talent, it’s the most valuable thing we’ve got – they understand the need in the community, and they’re sacrificing time with their family to help those who don’t have family,” Acaldo said. 

Many who come to serve have been doing so for years. 

“For volunteers who come here, they plan their day around volunteering. This is the center of their day,” Corry said. 

The Phoenix version includes a program called “Hearts and Hands,” aimed at accommodating multigenerational families of volunteers with age-appropriate tasks, from as young as 3 to people in their 90s, Corry said. 

Charity in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul isn’t a one-way street, he said. 

“It’s special because not only do we serve people, but we give people an opportunity of service,” Corry said. 

While many of the volunteers didn't watch football games on television, at the dining room on West Jackson Street in Phoenix, less than a mile away from the Arizona State Capitol, some had a chance to see former Kansas City Chiefs kicker Nick Lowery and about 20 other National Football League retirees. Not a lot of fuss will be made over them, though, Corry said. 

“They [weren't] there for celebrity status. They’re working,” Corry said. 

This year has been tougher for poor people in Maricopa County (which includes Phoenix) than 2023, he said. 

“We’ve seen a 30% increase in requests for food, year over year,” Corry said. 

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Corry noted that while Thanksgiving Day brings a lot of attention, the society plans to feed about the same number of people in Phoenix on the day after Thanksgiving and every day after that. 

“In some ways it’s a really special day,” Corry said, referring to Thanksgiving. “In other ways, it’s another day for us to care for God’s people.” 

Gratitude  

In Pittsburg, California, about 25 miles northeast of Oakland, several dozen volunteers were scheduled to serve about 200 meals overseen by a trained chef, said Claudia Ramirez, executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul District Council of Contra Costa County. 

The regional council of the society has been serving meals on Thanksgiving Day for the past 15 years. 

“Everybody comes to help support the community and do the good we can, and share the blessings we have,” Ramirez said. To the usual menu this year was added butternut squash soup, she said. 

The gathering began at 10 a.m. with the distribution of coats, scarves, toiletry items, and notes from kids in Catholic religious education programs to the people coming for meals – “So they all know they are loved and appreciated this Thanksgiving Day,” Ramirez said. 

At 10:30 a.m., volunteers and those being served gathered for a “Gratitude Circle,” in which those who want can take the microphone and say what they are grateful for. It usually takes about a half-hour to 45 minutes. 

“They do it very much from the heart,” Ramirez said. 

The event isn’t just a meal, she said, but a meeting of hearts. 

“This is what makes us Vincentians: We see Christ in those we serve,” Ramirez said. “And if we’re doing our work well, they see Christ in us.”