Did you know that 22.5% of children in Palm Beach County are food insecure? That means that 60,340 children go to bed hungry in our community. Did you know that 14.7% of all people in our county are food insecure? That means that 199,460 people in our community do not know where they will get their next meal. Of those 199,460 people, 29% do not qualify for food stamps or other federal nutritional programs. That means that 57,843 people in our community often must rely on emergency food assistance programs to meet their basic nutritional needs.
Today we have a wonderful opportunity to make a difference for the hungry in our community. It will be our joy to welcome Gibbie Nauman from CROS Ministries on Sunday morning. CROS Ministries is one of our key partners in ministry that help to provide emergency food assistance and other services to literally thousands of our Palm Beach County neighbors. The food we collect today and sort after the 10am service will go to help CROS Ministries in their mission to provide emergency and short-term food assistance to children and families in need.
As a parish, we have doubled our financial support of CROS Ministries this year. This year we are giving $10,000 to support the good work of CROS Ministries. That means that your pledges and other gifts to St. Paul’s help to feed hungry children and families throughout our community. This is the work of the Gospel!