Catholic Charities of Hendry & Glades Counties

Clewiston—The new food pantry at Catholic Charities of Hendry County is in need of individuals, groups or parishes willing to help keep the shelves stocked with food. Since opening in December, hundreds of hungry people have been lining up to receive items when food is delivered from the Harry Chapin Food Bank. Rarely is there anything left by the end of the day.

 

Food is only given out once or twice a month based on the program’s lean budget to order from the food bank, where items are low-cost or free from the USDA. The food pantry also is in need of financial donations to help purchase items more often.

 

“The need out here in Clewiston is overwhelming,” said Lourdes Forste, a caseworker for Catholic Charities of Hendry County. “My goal is to provide these people with food every week. We just don’t have enough to give. Everything goes as soon as we get it. Our shelves are usually empty.”

 

Located on the campus of St. Margaret Parish, the Catholic Charities of Hendry County office opened at the end of 2010 offering food and assistance with Access Florida Applications, which provides food stamps, temporary cash assistance, and Medicaid through the Department of Children and Families. Catholic Charities is an Access Florida partner and can process the applications for free.

 

“The Clewiston community is not capable of keeping the food pantry stocked with donated items as most people here are poor,” Forste said. There is only one other part-time food pantry in town at a local church. “Our pantry was in need of a freezer and one parishioner here at St. Margaret donated one that he financed through his credit card. That tells me the local people want and need us to be here. They want us to succeed and help their community.”

 

Forste said the second time the food pantry was open, it was pouring rain and about 130 families stood in line and endured the weather to receive food. “No one left the line. That’s when I knew we needed to be here in Clewiston providing this basic necessity of food,” she said.

 

The food pantry also accepts baby items such as diapers, wipes, baby formula, bottles, cloth diapers and pins. “There are a lot of young families living in Clewiston,” Forste said.

 

Forste also travels to migrant farm worker camps in the rural areas surrounding Clewiston to help those living there with Access Florida Applications. She likes to provide them with food as well. “I wish I had more to bring. I try to save some food aside for the migrant workers,” she said.

 

Many of the people living in Clewiston are low-paid workers connected to the agricultural industry and during the summer months there is less work available to them. “The summer months are the greatest time of need for food items,” Forste said. “The people here are even more desperate to makes end meet.”

 

Forste posts a sign on the front door of the Catholic Charities office that announces the next day food will be available. It can be two to three weeks between food giveaway dates. Another sign states: “We need your help. Please bring your own empty plastic bags.”

 

Anyone interested in organizing a food drive or assisting Catholic Charities of Hendry County, please contact Lourdes Forste at 863-983-2274 or 239-337-4193 or email lforste@ccslee.org.

 

Photo: Catholic Charities of Hendry County Caseworker Lourdes Forste stands in the food pantry that usually contains empty shelves.