Parishioners of St. Andre Bessette Parish are always supportive of Knights of Columbus endeavors, and a recent food drive was no exception.

The parish sponsored a May 1-2 food drive for the St. Joseph the Provider Feed the Hungry Initiative, an initiative of the Diocese of Burlington, and the Knights delivered some 150 pounds of non-perishable food items to Jay Food Shelf in Jay.

“We are committed to [trying] to participate as much as possible when we see or hear of a need in the community” such as the diocesan-wide food collection, said George Piette, Grand Knight of Father Meany-Father St. Onge Knights of Columbus Council #7943 in Troy and member of St. Andre Bessette Parish.

The parish consists of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Troy, St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in Lowell and St. Vincent de Paul Church in North Troy.

The Knights’ council also conducted food drives for Thanksgiving 2020, Advent 2020 and Lent 2021. Another food drive will be done in time for Thanksgiving 2021.

Food insecurity in Vermont reached record levels during the Covid-19 pandemic, so in this Year of St. Joseph, Burlington Bishop Christopher Coyne announced the new coordinated effort, the St. Joseph the Provider Feed the Hungry Initiative, to increase the Catholic Church’s capacity to feed the hungry in Vermont.

In the Diocese of Burlington, there are 68 parishes, most of which are engaged in feeding the hungry. “From operating their own food pantries, to partnering with local food shelves to hosting regular food drives, our Catholic community is already actively engaged in feeding the hungry,” he said. “I began this initiative to increase our efforts across our Diocese to meet the growing need for food in the community.”

Other recent projects the members of Father Meany-Father St. Onge Knights of Columbus Council were involved with in were scrapping and repainting the St. Andre Bessette Parish rectory, helping an elderly widow bring in and stack winter wood, paying the delinquent electric bill for a non-parishioner who was on the verge of having the electricity turned off and purchasing winter coats for children.