St. Francis of Assisi Parish

As more and more aid programs lose their funding, those that remain are even more important. I am not completely aware of all the local resources but I do know of a few areas impacted very near the Parish. Though my volunteering with the Burien Library Guild I have learned that there are fewer school based feeding sites for grade school children. The library system would partner with the meal programs to reach children and provide library services, now with fewer opportunities,

Praise Hallelujah Christian Outreach continues to provide a drive through food box distribution up toward White Center. Highline, Des Moines, and White Center each have Community Food Banks, staffed with a few paid staff and an army of volunteers. Other churches provide a myriad of ways to share food and community aid. Transform Burien has a clothing and food bank operation as well as hot meals and monthly veterinary services.

At St Francis we still have our St Vincent dePaul volunteers who can go into their food closet in Unity Place and pack a bag of food to take on their home visits. A lot of food is collected in the Thanksgiving Mass food drive, but it could certainly use continued support in other months as well. They also appreciate cash donations for when they are able to purchase case lots of food.

We also have our Little Free Pantry on the west side of the church, out of sight to those who approach from the parking lot. I pass by it frequently as I live close by, and it is often minimally stocked with food. A St Francis parishioner and family try to maintain its supplies and street appeal, but they need all of us to bring a can or bag of food every time we come to church and make it a weekly practice to contribute a food item. I confess that they want shelf stable food in there but I have often taken my abundance of fresh garden harvest and shared it in the pantry and it ALWAYS gets chosen and taken. 

An additional way each family can help is to bring in recycled plastic bags to pass on to the food banks. Watch the bulletin to know which weekend those are being collected in the vestibule.



Lastly, I want to mention St Francis and St Bernadette’s relationship providing hot dinners to Hospitality House for a week at a time, approximately every two months, That is real food directly to real people and we are grateful for those on our meal provider teams. 

There are lots of things individuals and families can do to assist with very real hunger issues right in our neighborhoods. Join us!

Closing invitation to peace and justice