St Pauls Episcopal Church, Fairfield, CT

St. Paul's Outreach Schedule for the
Community Suppers at St. Luke's/St. Paul's

Our team serves the
fourth Tuesday of every month.

About this ministry
The Reverend Maria Agosto of our sister parish, St. Paul's/St. Luke's of Bridgeport, has been the Director of the Pantry and Feeding Program for more than ten years. With the help of the volunteers and her husband, Vidal, she ensures that the people of the economically depressed East-end of Bridgeport can pick up bags of packaged food four days a week from The Pantry, or have a hot dinner any Tuesday of the month through the Feeding Program. Other churches in the area offer dinners on the other nights of the week, and there is one pantry for each district of Bridgeport, but the positive impact of St. Paul's/St. Luke's two food programs for the hungry is significant.

Members of St. Paul's, Fairfield, Outreach Committee, devote time to help this feeding program through promoting donated bags of food and serving a hot meal.

The Pantry, St. Luke's/St. Paul's
Please help stock these shelves!

Bags of Food for St. Luke’s/St. Paul’s of Bridgeport
Because the St. Luke’s/St. Paul’s Pantry has been able to take advantage of the resources at the Connecticut Food Bank, the food pantry has been stocked with large quantities of pasta, tuna, peanut butter, cereal and oatmeal, rice and tomato sauce.

However, there are certain foods that are not always available at the Food Bank, which we have listed below. Please note that we will let you know whenever the food needs change.

Seniors
soups
oatmeal
tea bags
coffee

Baby Needs
1st, 2nd, 3rd stage
diapers
Enfamil with Iron
(but not with Lipil)

Family Meals
instant potatoes
canned potatoes
beans of any kind
pancake mix,syrup
cereal

After-School Treats
canned spaghetti
macaroni & cheese dinners
graham crackers
jam (P.B. not needed)

Cooking Supplies
sugar
flour
vegetable/canola oil

You may leave your food donations at St. Paul's of Fairfield. We will be sure the donations are taken to St. Luke's. Simply ask the staff or ushers for the location and they will be happy to direct you.

Thank you from everyone at St. Luke’s/St. Paul’s for your continued support and caring for those served. These bags make a tremendous difference!

What these programs mean to the hungry:

The Feeding Program (hot, fresh meals) serves an average of 400 individuals a month; about a quarter of these are children, the rest are the hardest hit of the already low-income people: seniors, handicapped, single mothers or single-pregnant mothers. St. Luke's/St. Paul's offers a hot meal every Tuesday evening. Other area churches serve this evening meal on the other days of the week.

The Pantry (donated, packaged food) offers bags of food that are distributed in terms of three meals, something for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A good month, or, ample stocking of the shelves, can yield up to 400 bags a month distributed to individuals or families. Because Rev. Maria stocks the bags to make three meals a day, a good month can mean as much as 800 meals a month. But that is a good month.

The Rev. Maria Agosto,
Director of Food Programs,
St. Luke's/St. Paul's, Bridgeport

How your "Bags of Hope" donations are allocated:
Rev. Maria will always feed the people coming as long as they have a proper referral. All people who come to the pantry for free food must have a referral from a social agency and live in the St. Paul's/St. Luke's district. The social agencies are responsible for monitoring the length of time people are dependent on the pantry. After more than ten years of serving the needy, Rev. Maria has a keen eye for the abusers. If she finds young, able people coming to her pantry for too long, for example, she'll insist they work to find a job and will direct them to the proper agency and her professional contacts.

To volunteer:
If you would like to volunteer, Rev. Maria would be just as grateful. You can help at the pantry, shop at the Food Bank in Fairfield, or collect another team to cook and serve on a Tuesday night. St. Paul's serves on the fourth Tuesday evening of every month, a church in Easton handles a second Tuesday but the remaining Tuesdays are absorbed by the funds and time of St. Luke's/St. Paul's. For more information about volunteering, please call Kathy Fricker, Betty Boe, Nell Masse, Ann Kehoe or Kate Robbins.

To contact St. Luke's/St. Paul's:
The Rev. Maria Agosto,
Director of Community Feeding Programs
St.Luke's/St. Paul's Episcopal Church
594 Kossuth Street
Bridgeport, CT 06608
Ph: (203) 367-7009
E-mail: jdmmsr@sbc.global.net

The Rev. Maria Agosto with devoted volunteers in the kitchen that
yields up to 800 fresh dinners a month--with your help!