We continue with our new ministry of going out on Sundays at 4:30pm to physically feed the homeless. We meet with Lee Peters who has been doing this by himself for 6 years. We stop at various homeless street locations and also in the couple of homeless camps in the woods to distribute food and other supplies if we have them to the folks.
Last Sunday we gave out over 100 food items to the folks. Deacon Jose had made 20+ rice and ham meals which he had put in 8oz tupperware containers. Deacon Juan and I had made 59 80z portions of the Tortilla Soup recipe which is from our crockpot class. We also have some MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) meals which were given to us by Holy Angels Catholic Community, our main church, in Ft. Lauderdale.
So how can you help us in this new ministry? Suggestions!
Join us on any Sunday to help distribute
Send donations ($$$) specifically for this ministry so what we can buy the ingredients to make the meals any buy the containers (we recently got a membership at Restaurant Depot (which is like a Costco for restaurants)
If you have any favorite restaurants ask what do they do on a Saturday night at closing with all the leftover food not sold. Maybe we could have it to container it up for the folks. As we are a 501(c)3 these restaurants could get a Certificate of Donation (for tax purposes) from the parish for the cost of any food they donate.
Note: This is how a parishioner, Carmen used to get us so many crockpots back in the day by mentioning this to the businesses she visited.
If you would like to make hygiene kits, at home, for distribution. We can get them from you or being them to Mass. Here are examples and suggestions to help you start:
Pictured on the side are our "boy kits" which included:
Shampoo
Conditioner
Soap
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Mini first aid kit
Razor
Shaving cream
Deodorant
Lotion
Granola bar
Pictured on the side is an example of our "girl kit" which included:
Shampoo
Conditioner
Soap
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Deodorant
Mini first aid kit
Razor
Granola bar
Feminine products
-We used 1 gallon freezer bags, they're a bit more durable and not too huge so they will be easy to carry/pack around
-You can buy packs of 10-12 bars of soap for much cheaper than buying them individually, the same goes for toothbrushes
-Buy travel-size items, they will fit much easier in the bags and will be easier for people to carry with them
-Budget and plan in advance! If you're buying travel-size items they will cost around $1 each, it adds up quickly.
-Involve the whole family! My boys had so much fun picking out everything, putting items in the cart, and then packing the bags - I set everything out in piles on the floor, gave them each a bag, then they picked 1 item from each pile and loaded the bags, they had a blast doing it!
***Other Item Ideas***
Socks
Chapstick
Quarters (for laundry)
Small bottle of water
Comb/brush
Tissues
Wipes
Washcloth
Non-perishable snack foods (crackers, granola bars, etc)
Video of Sunday, June 1, 2025 distributing food
Click on thr right symbol
