The Breads Plus Program is a food delivery project of St. Christopher’s Parish and is administered by its Holy Name Society. The team consists of volunteer parishioners of St. Christopher’s. Each Monday, food is donated by local merchants, and delivered by our team to up to 40 needy families in the general area of Red Hook, Tivoli, and southern Columbia County.
A typical package of food for a receiving family consists of: a parcel or two of meat (chicken, beef, pork, a rotisserie chicken or turkey), breads (up to 3 loaves depending on family size), Delicatessen items (including frozen dinners, prepared salads, cheeses, cold cuts, etc.), fresh fruits and vegetables, desserts (a cake, pie, box of cookies, cupcakes, etc.), up to 6 frozen pizza slices, and, occasionally, eggs.
Additional Delicatessen items are picked up daily and stored in the St. Christopher’s School freezer for use by the Monday delivery teams.
The Monday Delivery Teams are configured as two person teams (usually one with a pickup truck, although some successfully use their vans or SUVs). A delivery schedule and the list of food recipients are maintained and distributed to the team by the program’s coordinator. There are currently six delivery teams and a few standby members who can fill in for absences. Each team delivers food every 6th or 7th Monday. The total time for a delivery run, beginning with the food collection at 8:00 a.m., and then proceeding to packaging, travel from client to client, and delivery at each stop, is approximately six hours. So, a volunteer to this program is donating 5 or 6 hours of charitable work every 6th Monday. Gasoline expense reimbursements are provided by the parish, and distributed to the Delivery Teams by the Program coordinator.
This work of mercy also provides a great deal of satisfaction for our team members, who realize that they, as practicing Catholics, are living the Faith as Jesus asked us to in His call for us to help the poor and feed the hungry.
Parish volunteers for this corporal work of mercy are welcome. If you wish to participate as either a Monday Delivery team member or a Standby member, please contact Mike Yannette, program coordinator – phone: 914-466-4447, or email: myannette@hvc.rr.com.
A St. Christopher/St. Sylvia Parish Corporal Work of Mercy