One especially driven young lady continued her mission to provide fresh, nutritious food to local needy families by hosting her third annual St. Joseph’s Table Produce Giveaway March 24 at St. Catherine Church.
Eighth grader Trinity Chester, along with her crew of fellow middle schoolers and adult volunteers, put out a spread of fresh fruits and vegetables to select from, as though local residents taking advantage of the giveaway were shopping at the grocery store.
“I started this event in 2015 as a way to provide fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables to the less fortunate in my community, and to empower middle schoolers to make a difference in their community,” Chester said. “This will be my last year as project leader as I will be in high school next year. I can’t wait to see what future middle schoolers will do with this unique service project.”
Fruits such as apples, bananas, lemons, oranges, watermelon and cantaloupe as well as vegetables including peppers, zucchini, onions, lettuce, kale and mushrooms were donated by local small farmers and distributors while other staples were bought using gift cards from grocery stores.
“This year, we have a great group of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders who are excited to see their hard work come to fruition,” Chester said.
Rose Pucan-Meagor, director of the family, faith formation and evangelization as well as leadership advisor for teens at St. Catherine Parish, helped transform Trinity’s teen ministry project of getting fresh fruit and veggies out to the neediest of families into a reality three years ago.
Afterward, the families—who just have to sign their name and place of residency before taking part—are also invited to a soup supper later the same day.
