By Dolores Sauca Lorusso

The Christ by the Sea Collaborative is challenging its parishes, St. Mary’s in Hull and St. Anthony’s in Cohasset, to donate their time and their resources in an “almsgiving” campaign to Take Out Hunger.

Funds raised will be used for a collaborative food packaging event to provide meals to those in need locally and abroad.

“Almsgiving is a traditional Catholic practice of the Lenten season,” said Jeanne Cregan, pastoral associate at Christ by the Sea Collaborative. “During Lent, Catholics are asked to intentionally focus more on ‘almsgiving,’ which means donating money or goods to those in need and performing other acts of charity like giving of their time to certain causes. Often Catholics give up, or fast from something, for the season of Lent; then any money that would have been spent on the item is often donated to those in need.”

The church collaborative is sponsoring the campaign in partnership with End Hunger New England of Pembroke. The goal of the collaborative is to raise at least $6,000 to feed a minimum of 15,000 people to contribute to End Hunger New England’s mission of “providing meals to 5,000,000 hungry New Englanders this year.”

End Hunger New England, led by Regional Manager Matthew Martin, is an outreach program that organizes food packaging events around the country. With more than 675 million meals packages to date, the organization’s mission is to provide safe water, food, medical care, and education to those in need, at home and abroad.

Martin, who refers to himself as the “meal packaging guy,” says End Hunger New England has “partnered with 87 different kind of groups throughout the region, feeding those who hunger in their neighborhoods … Lutherans, businesses, the United Way, schools, non-profits, United Methodists, Rotarians, food banks, Episcopalians, and Congregationalists have each fed over a million.”

One in 10 people on the planet are food insecure, meaning they are without access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. American food insecurity was at its lowest in 20 years, then the pandemic hit, and food insecurity rose 163% in Massachusetts, bringing it from 570,000 people to 930,000. Today, that number has dropped to 624,000 food insecure people in Massachusetts.

“One in five people in Massachusetts is considered food insecure and do not know where their next meal is coming from…we have the ability to make a difference in the lives of those that actually are our neighbors!” Cregan said. “There is significant hunger in our state … For me personally, I love this project because it gives volunteers of all ages the opportunity to live out the Gospel by donating both time and funds to help end hunger in our community. I have seen the impact being a part of End Hunger has had on my family, giving us a way to contribute to those in need in a way that is accessible for our family.”

End Hunger New England is a “lifesaver” for many people in our area; bringing hundreds of thousands of nutritious meals to the New England area. Forty-eight percent of meals are packaged for Greater Boston food pantries, meaning meals end up in the same area where the funding comes from, meaning that a difference can be felt right here in Hull.

The collaborative invites residents to join its efforts to end hunger. Volunteer sign-ups will be available soon at www.christbythesea.net. The number of volunteer spots depends on how much money is raised to feed those in need. Donations can be made online through March 26 using the QR code or you can text the word “hunger” to 781-630-5889.

The Take Out Hunger meal packaging event will take place on Sunday, April 2, from 2-6 p.m. in the St. Anthony Parish Center in Cohasset.

If you have questions, or want to learn more, contact jeannecregan@christbythesea.net.