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St Patrick's Meal Of Grace--Setting The Table For 900 On March 15

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St Patrick’s Meal Of Grace––

Setting The Table For 900 On March 15

By Kaaren Valenta

The idea of providing a free meal for 900 people might seem daunting, but an interfaith effort in Newtown intends to accomplish just that on Saturday, March 15.

Volunteers from churches and synagogues, area businesses, and others are responding to a plea from At Our Gate, a local charitable foundation of the Knights of Columbus, to provide a meal at a time of the year when the cupboards are almost bare at area food pantries and soup kitchens.

“We had a dinner that served 400 on Christmas Day,” said Mark Dennen, who is coordinating the project with fellow Knight Frank Middleton. “We realized from the response at Christmas that there was a real need, and the situation has only gotten worse. Since then we have heard about other shelters that are in need. They are in places like Bridgeport, Shelton, and Danbury. They may not be in Newtown, but you have to go where the people are hungry.”

It was little more than a year ago when Mr Dennen heard about a program in his father’s hometown in Pennsylvania that provided a free Thanksgiving dinner to the elderly and others who would otherwise have been alone that day.

“It sounded like a great idea –– something we could do in Newtown,” Mr Dennen said.

That Christmas, in 2001, the Knights of Virgilius Chapter 185 and other volunteers fed about 85 people at the parish hall at St Rose Church. They also delivered the meals to those who could not, or would not, come to the hall.

“I think many people feel there is a stigma attached to something that is free, but the idea was a communitywide sharing, not a handout,” Mr Dennen explained.

This past Christmas the Knights reached out to contacts in Danbury and Bridgeport, and the requests poured in. A snowstorm kept most of the recipients at home, but volunteers still managed to deliver hundreds of meals to them at locations throughout Newtown, Monroe, Danbury, and Bridgeport.

“When it was all over, lots of people heard about it and said they’d love to be involved, to volunteer, the next time we did it,” Mr Dennen said. “Well, that time is now.”

The local chapter of the Salvation Army has offered to assist in the purchase of food and the Congregation Adath Israel, under the leadership of Rabbi Shaul Praver, has donated food, related cooking items, and a dozen volunteers to assist in meal preparation and distribution.

Mark Rebb, chairman of the Men’s Club at Adath Israel, heard about the plan and volunteered to help.

“The holiday of Purim requires that we give food to the needy,” Mr Rebb said. “The Men’s Club has been looking to do more charity work.

“In the house I grew up in, you had an obligation and responsibility to help others,” he said. “My earliest memory of my father is of him doing charity work.”

John Hemberger, a trained chef, has volunteered to again coordinate the kitchen. The dinner will include a choice of turkey or ham, with stuffing, vegetables, rolls, juice, and dessert.

“Everyone is welcome to come to the St Patrick’s Meal of Grace and also to help,” Mr Dennen said. “We have been getting donations of turkey and hams, but we could use more. The Shelter of the Cross in Danbury, which we have helped in the past, donated $150 worth of certificates for Butterball turkeys.”

The greatest need at this point Mr Dennen said, is monetary donations.

“We buy good quality food,” he said. “This is food that anyone would like to eat. For example, we provide 100 percent juice instead of juice drinks. And we don’t waste any leftovers. Everything is donated.”

“Any job worth doing is worth doing right,” Mr Rebb said.

At Our Gate is a charitable foundation so donations are tax deductible, Mr Dennen added.

Rides are available for those who want to come to the dinner but who do not have transportation. Home deliveries also are available.

“Currently we have requests for over 900 meals to be served or delivered to people in Bridgeport, Shelton, Danbury, and Newtown,” Mr Dennen said.

The undertaking will be a two-day effort, with much of the food preparation taking place on March 14. Then volunteers will work in shifts between 9 am and 3 pm on the day of the dinner, which begins at 11:30 am in the St Rose Parish Hall on Church Hill Road. Anyone who wants to help or who needs a dinner delivered, or a ride, should call 426-8064 or 426-0098.

Checks should be made out to At Our Gate and sent to Mark Dennen at 6 Old Green Road, Sandy Hook, CT 06482. Anyone who wants to make a donation of food should contact Mr Middleton at 426-0098 to confirm the immediate needs and the drop-off point.

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