This year’s Lenten food drive runs Wednesday, March 2-Tuesday, April 12, 2022.
Nutritional Development Services (NDS), an agency of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is hosting its annual “One-Can Meal” food drive to enable broad and meaningful participation in the Lenten season.
For over 35 years, NDS has hosted this Lenten food drive as a way to help fulfill the season’s call to almsgiving. Last year, NDS collected approximately 22,500 pounds of non-perishable items through this initiative to benefit hundreds of food-insecure families and individuals in our area.
Those interested in helping our neighbors in need can support NDS’ Community Food Program by purchasing items online through You Give Goods at https://yougivegoods.com/lent2022.
All goods donated now through Tuesday, April 12th will help stock the shelves of NDS’ network of 50 food cupboards throughout the Greater Philadelphia region including five food cupboards operated by Catholic Social Services; five soup kitchens; and numerous community outreach programs.
NDS is also partnering with elementary and high schools throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as well as Parish Religious Education Programs (PREP) to organize collections within their school communities. Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to collect non-perishable “one-can” meal items to benefit those in need. Examples include low-sodium soups and beans, canned vegetables, and canned proteins among other options.
To further help those in need this Lenten season, faithful can also participate in Rice Bowl, an initiative of Catholic Relief Services (CRS). This faith-in-action program provides a tangible way to incorporate prayer, fasting, and almsgiving into our Lenten journeys. A quarter of all donations made to Rice Bowl support NDS and are used to combat hunger and poverty locally. For additional information, please visit http://archphila.org/crsricebowl/.
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Editor’s Note: For over 48 years, Nutritional Development Services (NDS) mission has been to serve children and those in need with healthy food. NDS accomplishes its mission in two distinct ways: by administering the federally-funded child nutrition programs and through the privately supported Community Food Program. For more information about NDS, an agency of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, please visit http://nutritionaldevelopmentservices.org/. NDS is an equal opportunity service provider.