June and July Mission Project
School-age children and teens who receive free or reduced meals face challenges in the summer months. Back in 2017, the Reading St. Vincent de Paul Society sought to address this need, and began working with the schools to identify families. The program has grown exponentially each year (from 30 to 50 families, with the anticipation that 60 families will apply this summer). The program receives funding from grants and support from the Reading Food Pantry.
However, given the increased demand on both the Food Pantry and the Summer Meals Program, the Reading St. Vincent de Paul Society is reaching out and asking for help from local organizations to collect a specific item from their shopping list.
First Congregational Church has been invited to collect mustard, ketchup, and sweet relish plastic squeeze bottles (100 of each). We will be collecting these during the months of June and July in addition to our regular pantry collection outside the Music Room.