[StBernard] St Bernard Students Collect 2, 000 lbs of Food for Local Food Pantry!

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Mon Dec 1 08:01:09 EST 2008


The holiday season has always been a time for giving, and students in St
Bernard Parish are certainly taking that message to heart. Over the past
month, both public and private schools across St Bernard Parish have been
collecting food for the Mustard Seed Food Pantry at the nonprofit Community
Center of St Bernard, 1107 LeBeau St, in Arabi.



Schools that participated in food drives for the Mustard Seed program
include Lynn Oaks in Braithwaite, whose students collected 172 lbs of canned
meats, fruits, vegetables, soups and pasta. Meanwhile students, staff and
administrators at the St Bernard Parish Public Schools, including Trist
Middle School in Meraux , Chalmette High, and the St. Bernard Parish Schools
Central Office, collected an amazing 1,847 lbs of food to help local
families in need. This food is being distributed through the Mustard Seed
food distribution program, which provides low-income residents with
nonperishable food, cleaning supplies and personal care items.



During the 3 months from July - September, the Mustard Seed program supplied
65,694 lbs of nutritious canned and dried food to 3,052 residents, including
1,027 children. And these numbers are rising at an alarming rate as the
economy continues to worsen. Staff at the Community Center are currently
enrolling as many as 12 new low-income households daily in the program.



"The situation is very serious, both in St Bernard and elsewhere," notes
Community Center Executive Director Iray Nabatoff. "According to Feeding
America, requests for food assistance are up about 30% nationwide. We're
certainly grateful to all the students who are helping us to keep our
shelves stocked at this critical time when more and more families are coming
to us for food."



The Mustard Seed Food Pantry operates on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays
only from 11AM - 4PM. For more information about the Mustard Seed food
distribution for low-income residents and other Community Center resources,
please phone 504-281-2512 or visit www.ccstb.org.



###
Photos of this event are online at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21739224@N08/sets/72157610371732503/

Community Center of St Bernard
504-281-2512
www.ccstb.org <http://www.ccstb.org>




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