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SUNSET PARK: In the first week of July, the average value of a dozen eggs in the U. S. The U. S. was $2. 84, about $1. 17 more than a year ago, according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture. USA
But, despite emerging inflation, egg cartons were loose on July 7 in St. John’s Parish. Michael’s of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, a food distribution “Live it Up: Get Healthy, Live Well. “
Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens (CCBQ) makes distributions with volunteers from E-J Electric Company and New York City
Neighbors from the surrounding neighborhoods covered up in front of the parish parking lot to get more than eggs.
Their bags and shopping carts were filled with spinach, onions, beets and new lettuce; also peanut butter, jugs of apple juice and packets of rice.
It’s Carmen Valenzuela’s first stop at a CCBQ food distribution, and the mother of 4 grateful for the help.
“It’s good,” he says with a broad smile. People want food. It’s too expensive now. “
She shared a shopping cart with her friend, Ada Boito. Fortunately, the women showed off their spinach, eggs, and other food products. Both said they knew other families in Sunset Park who didn’t have enough to eat.
“Some other people can’t take care of prices,” Boito lamented. “Everything is going high, high, high. Everything!”
And neighbors who struggled to feed them gained more than vegetables and protein when it came to distributing food.
“Since day one of the pandemic, we’ve been making those ’emerging’ food distributions and we haven’t stopped,” said Debbie Hampson, CCBQ’s senior director of community health and wellness services.
“But it became those ‘Live it Up’ wellness and fitness fairs,” he continued. “We’re not just distributing food, but other resources as well. “
This includes dental and blood pressure exams, as well as data tables with representatives from Empire BlueCross BlueShield Insurance, NYU Langone Health, Catholic Migration Services, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps).
Bishop Alfred LoPinto, executive director of CCBQ, said they are huge because they want to be.
“It’s about being as complete as possible to cover the breadth of what other people have to face on a daily basis,” Bishop said. But, in fact, it’s an opportunity for other people to see how much the Church cares about them in those difficult times.
“Last year it was COVID. Now it’s inflation that’s ending them,” he said. “You’re going to have recessions and certain degrees of inflation, but having all those things at once is like living in the best storm. . “
Rommel Reyes is aware of the weight of a multi-pronged crisis. Recently, someone stole his wallet containing his “green card,” social security card, and other IDs.
Without those documents, the Honduran metallurgist had no way to buy food and could even apply for a new job. On Thursday, CCBQ staff asked him how to get duplicate cards.
“Thank God,” he said. I am 65 years old and I want to retire, but I also want to paint part-time. So, I want my identification.
Hampson said the July 7 distribution would serve about 400 people, delivering bags of food to 75 members confined to their St. John’s Parish. Michael.
“We do it about 3 times a month,” he said. We are turning it into instructions between brooklyn and queens parishes. “
And volunteers from E-J Electric and the carpenters’ union are provided at the distribution site.
Brian Lang, E-J’s superintendent of road operations, said the commitment was sealed the first time company staff helped at a food distribution event at the beginning of the pandemic.
“We showed up and there were about 3,000 more people lining up the night before,” Lang said. “We knew right away that we couldn’t be ‘unique’, that we had to stay the course. More than two years later, we are still here.
Joe Reilly, a union board representative, said carpenters continue to volunteer because of the other people receiving services.
“You see them coming in and they look discouraged, oppressed,” Reilly said. “And then you see them leave with baskets full of food, enough for a week to feed their children. The look is completely adjusted. Now they are smiling.
“Just seeing them shine like this makes me happy to have been a part of something bigger than myself. “
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