Over the past two months, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Portland Council and our food bank the Food Recovery Network busily prepared for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The first week in November began with the opening of the Thanksgiving Emergency Food Box request line in the Portland Council’s Emergency Services Department. Conference volunteers collected 300 names for the St. Vincent de Paul Conference at Resurrection Catholic Church’s Thanksgiving meal food boxes program.  By the second week of November, the Christmas Food Box lines open at the Portland Council offices in conjunction with Adopt-a-Family phone lines. Names were taken on the Christmas Food Box until December 15^th. Each year, the Christmas phone lines are staffed by Conference volunteers who take the requests for assistance.

Resurrection Parish Conference volunteers at Thanksgiving distribution

On November 23, St. Vincent de Paul Conference members at Resurrection Catholic Church along with St. Vincent de Paul Food Recovery Network staff and volunteers from Project Enterprise distributed approximately 300 Thanksgiving meal food boxes. Boxes, artistically decorated, along, with a gift card for the purchase of a ham or turkey, were distributed to households in need from across the Portland-Metro area. The St. Vincent de Paul Conference members  at Our Lady of Victory in Seaside distributed 125 Thanksgiving meal food boxes.

Cleveland High School student food drive

Annually, Cleveland High’s Senior Class and Central Catholic High School conduct food drives for St. Vincent de Paul Food Recovery Network around November 20^th. This year Cleveland High school presented 914 pound of food which was 690 pounds greater than last year’s food drive.

Central Catholic High School Food Drive 2009

Central Catholic High School’s annual food drive resulted in 7,661 lbs being collected by students and staff. Approximately, twenty-four Central Catholic student volunteers and staff helped sort, weigh and box the donations. This year the students collected twice as much food as last year and donated a check in the amount of $200.

St. Vincent de Paul Portland Council coordinates the annual Scouting for Food drive in conjunction with The Cascade Pacific Council, Boy Scouts of America and 68 recipient food box sites. The annual Scouting for Food drive held in early December is recognized as the last major food drive of the year for northwest Oregon and southwest Washington area emergency food agencies. This year the Boy Scouts of America, Cascade Pacific Council, along with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Portland Fire and Rescue, Beaverton Kiwanis, Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue, Tonkin Toyota and 48 other volunteer groups collected food to provide for households that may otherwise go without a Christmas meal. An estimated 500 local Scouts went door-to-door in a six-county area to collect approximately 136,000 pounds of canned goods and other non-perishable food for those in need. Receiving the donated food were agencies that included food banks, food pantries and other community groups serving low-income households. This year’s Scouting for Food drive brought in 10% more than last year’s drive.

Preparation for the December Christmas Food Box Distribution begins early, even though the distribution was on December 19^th. Conference’s came to the St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank to pick up boxes, bread, butter, stuffing, chips, fresh pears, and hams to add to their Christmas food boxes on December 17 and 18^th.  This year over 4,289 families were assisted by the St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank, Conferences, Jesuit Alumni and students throughout a five county area.  Conference volunteers delivered the Christmas Food Boxes and (toys) to low income and working poor families. Christmas is always a collaborative effort with St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank, Central Catholic High School and Boys Scouts of America collecting food and St. Vincent de Paul Conferences, Jesuit High School students and Jesuit Alumni delivering the filled boxes. St. Vincent de Paul Conference of Christ the King Catholic Church in Milwaukie, took on an additional 45 Christmas food boxes for military families where the spouse was deployed. Military personnel came to the Christ the King parking lot on Dec. 19^th and graciously accepted and delivered the 45 boxes to protect the privacy of our enlisted soldiers.

Santa Visits the Mobile Kitchen

This was the first year for Christmas dinners on the new St. Vincent de Paul Mobile Kitchen. We partnered with AFSCME childcare workers union who collected nearly 1000 gloves, socks, mittens and other winter apparel. Santa handed out stocking filled with goodies and gave children the opportunity to choose their own appeal after eating a Christmas meal on the mobile kitchen. We served 404 meals which included ham and all the trimmings at five sites in Sandy, Estacada, Molalla, Canby and a homeless site in Clackamas County.

Companies and families contacted St. Vincent Portland Council to Adopt-A-Family for Christmas was coordinated through the St. Vincent de Paul Food Recovery Network. This year 121 families, 512 total people which included 355 children were adopted and delivered a Christmas meal and gifts.

St. Vincent de Paul Portland Council would like to thank everyone for volunteering; adopting a family, donating food, donating funds, collecting food, distributing food and helping so many families enjoy a blessed Christmas.