Truck contains 10,000 lbs. of food for distribution

Prince of Peace volunteers set-up the “store”

On Saturday, October 5, SVdP Prince of Peace Conference held a Mobile Food Pantry serving neighbors in need in Lake County. The sun was shining and the SVdP conference members along with other parish volunteers from the Knights of Columbus, the Boy Scouts and our Confirmation Class partnered together to provide food to over 90 families including 276 individuals with 53 of them children.

Over the last three years, the Prince of Peace Conference with the support of the St. Bede’s conference has partnered with the Northern Illinois Food Bank to hold Mobile Pantries three times a year in the church parking lot.

Neighbors in need start lining up as early as 7:30 am to make sure they have an early spot in line. At around 8:30 am, the food truck arrives with 10,000 lbs. of food including meat, fresh produce, dairy products and various canned and boxed items. It is a surprise each time to see what arrives on the truck but there is always plenty of food to support those in need. When it is a client friend’s “turn”, they enter the shopping line where they are accompanied by a “helper” from the Confirmation Classes who pushes a cart to carry all the shopping bags and boxes. Once shopping is complete, volunteers help load the food into the car for our client friends.

It is truly a parish collaborative event which has helped provide service opportunities for our youth and also raised awareness of the need right in our community, all while helping those in need.

A Home for the Holidays

Prince of Peace St. Vincent de Paul Society

Recently, the Prince of Peace Society of St. Vincent de Paul Conference had the privilege of following in the footsteps of Jesus by helping a young family in need.

We received a call from a single mother “Sherry” (name changed to protect her privacy) with five children, all under the age of eight. This young mother suffers from PTSD. Sherry is a survivor of domestic violence and her family was on the verge of being homeless. Sherry is very resourceful and found affordable housing for her family however was not able to come up with the necessary deposit to move into the house. We invited the family to join us at our monthly community dinner where the kids seemed to really enjoy the meal and desserts based on their huge smiles! Our Prince of Peace SVdP home visitors met with Sherry after the dinner to hear about her family’s story and to better understand their needs.

We partnered with other local charitable organizations and all the Lake County St. Vincent de Paul conferences to come up with the funds needed for the family to move into the home. Members of the Prince of Peace Knights of Columbus joined our volunteers to move the family’s belongings in time for Thanksgiving. The St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store in Libertyville helped complete furnishing the home with beds, dressers and a kitchen table. One of the home visitors dropped off a Turkey Meal box provided by St. Gilbert’s St. Vincent de Paul for Thanksgiving and heard from the kids how thrilled they were to each have a bed of their own.

Sherry and her family are very happy in their new home and Sherry has started a job to help provide for the ongoing needs of the family. They are really looking forward to Christmas in their own home. It was truly a blessing to work with Sherry to make her family’s dreams come true. This is just one of the stories of the individuals and families we encounter every day as members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

We thank everyone for their generous donations and treasure the partnerships we have with the community, the Knights of Columbus, the Confirmation Classes, Savvy Seniors and so many others who help us to help those in need. If you are able, please think about donating this Christmas season to St. Vincent de Paul in memory of a loved one or in honor of your family. Your donation will help someone right in our community who is in need. God Bless and Merry Christmas!