Saint Vincent de Paul Society at St. Gregory the Great Parish

The St. Vincent de Paul Society (SVDP) is a person-to-person outreach organization that is grounded in prayer, spiritual friendship, and service to the poor. Started in France by a group of college students in 1833, we have been active in the area surrounding St. Gregory the Great since 1957. Inspired by Gospel values, our mission is to grow in holiness, and to build a more just world through personal relationships with, and service to, people in need. Put simply, we are here to help people and have been specifically “assigned” to serve the neighborhood from 51st to 76th Street, between Cleveland Ave and Morgan Ave.

As part of our outreach, we operate a food pantry on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month, from 10am—Noon.  We have a “Choice” pantry, and provide our neighbors with a shopping list so they can choose the items they need. This shopping list also describes the items we typically ask for in donations, so that our neighbors can always depend on a steady supply of food in our pantry. In addition to non-perishable items, we also provide meat, produce, bread, bakery and hygiene/household items at each pantry. During the summer months we include garden produce from our St. Gregory the Great School Garden, and the Community Garden at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. We serve between 25-35 households at each pantry, ranging in size from single-person households to families of 7 or more. We distribute approximately 150 bags of food at a typical Saturday pantry. The amount of food provided is determined by family size. The pantry is operated by members of the SVDP, as well as parish volunteers. Spanish-speaking interpreters are on hand to help as needed. We welcome anyone with an interest in this mission of charity to come and see what we are about.  Contact info below.

If you, or someone you know is in need of assistance with food, please stop by our pantry on the 1st or 3rd Saturday. Enter Door 11, off the large parking lot on 60th and Oklahoma. No appointment is necessary, but we do ask that you bring a photo ID, recent piece of mail with current address, and identification for all members of the household.

For further information you can contact us at svdp@stgregsmil.org or 414-491-9768. All requests for assistance are confidential.

 

St. Vincent de Paul

 


Click here to check out the article in the Catholic Herald about the SVdP society