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Volunteers filling St Vincent de Paul hampers at their warehouse in Monavalley on Friday. Included are Charlotte Dolan, Jaafar Alrusan, Courtney Sheehy, Rose O’Reilly, Catherine O’Connell, Helen Locke, Pat Hussey and Natalie O’Connell. Photo by Dermot Crean
WITH just days to Christmas, volunteers at St Vincent de Paul depot in Monavalley have been working diligently to get food packages made up for needy families in the Tralee area.
By Friday they had over 800 families on their list to receive hampers, but that number was likely to rise. This was already 200 more than last year and 400 more than were distributed in 2017.
Foodshare puts in food from FEAD, which is the European Union’s fund for the most deprived and then St Vincent de Paul, from funds they have raised, buy extra food like soft drinks, tea, coffee, meat, etc.
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They plan on distributing all the hampers by Monday evening. Foodshare works with other organisations in the area and they also distribute food packages to needy people, so it’s likely the number of families and individuals who need help is even greater than 800.
While there is much talk about an economic revival, it’s clear from these figures that there is an increasing number of people in need of help around Christmas. Thanks to the public’s generosity, St Vincent de Paul and Foodshare can continue to help them.
St Vincent de Paul are hosting a three-course Christmas Day Dinner at St John’s Parish Centre from 2pm to 4pm. It’s free of charge and all are welcome.
