The Pantry at Ascension 
This ministry involves distribution of non-perishable food and personal care items to those in need on the first Saturday of every month.  For the latest on this ministry, please click here.  

If you would like further information on the Pantry at Ascension, please email or call the Reverend Deacon Charles Farrell, Food Pantry Coordinator.  

​"Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints."

We begin the third decade of the St. Anthony of Padua Food Pantry at Church of the Ascension, yet its mission remains unchanged: to provide food for the hungry in our neighborhood.

The St. Anthony of Padua Food Pantry operates the first Saturday of every month at 10:30 a.m. We spend a sociable morning making sandwiches, assembling lunches, and packing bags of dry groceries. These are distributed at noon to a client base that includes elderly, handicapped, homeless, and other needy community members. Occasionally we have leftover lunches and donate them to the Pacific Garden Mission, a homeless shelter on South Canal Street.

Volunteers at the food pantry come both from our parish and from the surrounding community. The number of helpers varies widely from month to month, but we always manage to complete our tasks. New volunteers are always welcome. We have fun and, frequently, homemade snacks. If you have time on the first Saturday of the month, come join the fun!

The Food Pantry fills an important need in the community. The Pantry distributes an average of 162 bags of groceries each month and more than 2,000 sack lunches a year. In addition, partial bags of food are distributed during the week as requested when hungry people came to the door of the church. The Pantry receives monetary support from the parish to purchase the food we distribute. Parishioners augment this with generous donations of additional money, food, and personal-care items. In cold weather, we distribute coats, sweaters, blankets, scarves, and ear-warmers, also donated by parishioners.

The budget we receive from the Vestry covers much of the food we distribute, but we continue to need help with direct contributions of: 

• canned tuna and sardines
• canned stew and chili
• soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, and deodorant

Pantry volunteers also help supplement our budget in many ways. Recent examples include a special fundraising party for the Food Pantry organized by Courtney Walsh, and monthly collection of shopping bags for food distribution by Jim Lenz.

Three times a year – February, June, and October – we rent a truck and make a very large purchase from a wholesale grocery house. This activity also happens on a Saturday, but not the first one in the month. We always need strong volunteers to unload the truck and stack the many cases.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Deacon Charles Farrell:
[email protected] or 715 225-2575.