The Great Grouping feeds those hardest hit by the coronavirus lockdown

Each weekday morning, volunteers at the food pantry in Good Samaritan Parish, Ambridge, ask the intercession of St. Teresa of Calcutta, who relied radically on God’s providence to serve the poor.

“We feel her presence. There is no doubt that St. Teresa of Calcutta is with us,” said Cindy Deschaine, director of faith formation for Good Samaritan, Our Lady of Peace in Conway and Saint John the Baptist in Baden. Together with Saints John and Paul in Franklin Park, they form the self-named “Great Grouping” and have lived up to that name as all four parishes cooperate to serve those hardest hit by the coronavirus lockdown.

“Three hundred children get lunches every day, with extras for the parents,” she said. Volunteers also distribute meals to the homebound, including many seniors.

In February, none of the four parishes had a food pantry. Now the three Beaver Valley parishes together distribute 300 meals daily, along with other supplies. They started a separate fund – the Beaver Valley Food Pantry – to support the rapidly expanding ministry.

As the lockdown began, the nearby ecumenical food bank closed for two weeks to reorganize for safe distribution. This left one of the poorest communities in the region with no regular source of free food.

“People who had lived paycheck to paycheck all of a sudden did not have a paycheck. They had no savings. They had an immediate need for food,” Deschaine said.

While she continued leading online faith formation, she called for volunteers to distribute food.

The Good Samaritan St. Vincent de Paul Society gave its food stock to the parish. Saints John and Paul, located in a wealthy suburb, set up a safe drop for donated goods in its picnic pavilion. Each week volunteer cooks from Saints John and Paul make hundreds of freezer meals for the food pantry, and some parishioners became delivery drivers. The other two Beaver Valley parishes joined in.

The nearest Costco donates food nearing expiration. New Hope Lutheran Church in Cranberry sends supplies for Ambridge’s Latino community, which avoids processed products in favor of rice, beans and fruit. Other food is purchased, along with cleaning supplies, diapers and pet food.

The grouping continued to expand its food pantry after the Ambridge food bank, the Center for Hope, reopened. The Catholic food bank can serve anyone in need, not just those who prove they meet federal qualifications required at Center for Hope. But the Good Samaritan pantry works cooperatively with the Center for Hope, forwarding any meals left after its morning distribution.

Thank you notes have poured in.

“One woman told us she cried and cried because she had never had to go to the food bank before,” Deschaine said.

The number of people served has tripled over three weeks.

“Every time we think this is as big as we can possibly go, something happens, and we get another arm.” Deschaine said. “God leads us where we need to go.”