New Hope Church Honored For Work On Philly-Area Food Insecurity

NEW HOPE, PA — A New Hope church was honored last month as the "Caring Cooking Church of the Year" by a Philadelphia volunteer organization and independent food bank.

"For the past eight years, St Martin of Tours has been one of — if not the top — senior meals partner, making and donating thousands of meals, as well as providing monetary donations to support neighbors in need," the organization Caring For Friends announced in a news release.

New Hope's St. Martin of Tours began working with Caring For Friends in 2005, parishioner Wanda Sotack said.

“We are a very giving parish and we have a lot of wonderful parishioners that are willing to help,” she told Patch.

Every last Wednesday of the month, she'd work with other volunteers to make meals at the church; then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, parishioners made meals in their homes for Caring for Friends.

The church encourages children to join in making the meals, too.

"Even in our local community we provided for some people," Sotack said.

In a news release, Caring For Friends said it relied on more than 10,000 volunteers to pack and distribute 12 million pounds of food to households; deliver more than a half a million meals to homebound seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities; and provide 400 servings of food monthly to people experiencing homelessness.

Now, the organization serving people in the Philadelphia region is seeking more volunteers to help make 100,000 extra meals each month for families and individuals struggling due to inflation.

More information about Caring For Friends is available online.

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