Andice parish helps working poor put food on the table

By Ricardo Gandara | Correspondent

These days during the pandemic, the parish hall at Santa Rosa de Lima Parish in Andice looks like anything but a place for fellowship groups or Knights of Columbus meetings. It has become a lifeline for many area families in need of food.
The parish hall has been transformed into a food warehouse complete with commercial freezers and refrigerators. Dry food is packed in boxes and bags on side-by-side folding tables. On contactless distribution days, dozens of masked volunteers scurry around like elves in a busy toyshop of a Christmas movie.
For seven years, the Santa Rosa food pantry has been a staple for needy families, faithfully distributing canned goods, dairy products and meat twice a month. As many as three dozen volunteers headed by pantry coordinator Nora Fitzpatrick hand out boxes upon boxes of food to families from Georgetown, Florence and Liberty Hill.
Food pantries at parishes throughout the Diocese of Austin make a significant difference in people’s lives. An elderly grandmother in the carline that snaked through the parking lot in Andice said in Spanish, “As for me, I don’t know what we’d do without this food from these good people.”
Helen Valdez comes every month. She doesn’t exit her car as happy workers load her trunk. “I don’t have much income, so it helps a lot, especially during the holidays,” she said.
At 4 p.m. on food distribution day at the end of November, 50 vehicles were already in line. For many, it was the saving grace they needed to feed their loved ones for Thanksgiving.
On that day, the pantry served 279 families.
“It’s the most we’ve ever done,” Fitzpatrick said. “The people we serve work as maids, landscapers, and at quarries, restaurants and retail shops where their hours have been cut. They’re the working poor, and the need is great.”
Father Larry Stehling, pastor of Santa Rosa Parish, began the ministry seven years ago. All are served whether they are Catholic or not.
“Father Larry says everyone that needs food, gets food,” Fitzpatrick said.
While no one is turned down, families register through the Central Texas Food Bank, which plays a big role is providing food to the pantry. The pantry also receives donations from HEB food stores and buys some items at discounted prices.
Parishioner donations are vital, Father Stehling said.
“We have a second collection on Sunday to fund our pantry,” he said. “It is very well funded and never has run low on funds even in the past months of COVID.”
Fitzpatrick said volunteers are the backbone of the ministry.
“They are passionate about what they do. They really care about people,” she said.
The pantry relies on the manpower of the volunteers during all aspects of the ministry.
“Our food pantry is very labor intensive, from the pickup and delivery of goods to the distribution,” Father Stehling said.
Rita Molina-Rymer is a food pantry volunteer, and she is also the coordinator of the Healthy Options Program for the Elderly, another ministry at Santa Rosa Parish.
“We love what we do. Sometimes there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything we want to do,” she said.