Catholic Charities Set Up Shop in Winnie

Food Bank Open for Business … Needs Volunteers

By Gloria Way

  Winnie, Texas is now home to a new center for food distribution and numerous social services for Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas. Carolyn Fernandez, CEO of Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas, met with The Seabreeze Beacon last week to explain what is happening at the location of The Vine and food pantry formerly operated by The St. Vincent De Paul Society (SVDP) on SH 124 in Winnie.

  The Vine and the food bank have always been operated by volunteers and as time passed, the volunteers have become older and have not been able to deal with administering and managing the services as needed so SVDP had been searching for an organization that they could “pass the torch”. Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas was made aware of the SVDP situation and quickly saw this as an opportunity to build a storefront and use it as a means of providing its mission to “provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire church and other people of good will to do the same”. “This opportunity to purchase the land and buildings of SVDP came up very quickly, and we (Catholic Charities) had to act quickly in acquiring the SVDP operation,” said Fernandez. “We are thrilled to be able to more effectively service the needs of people in Chambers County.” Catholic Charities bought the land and buildings which house the food bank and the thrift shop and immediately went to work on developing plans for a new center.

  Catholic Charities’ food bank program is called Market to HOPE. “We have a partnership with the Houston Food Bank, and we are working out scheduling and delivery of food to the Market to HOPE in Winnie,” said Fernandez. “But we want everyone to know that we are very much open now to provide food to those that need it in our community.” Market to HOPE is a concept that has come to fruition in Beaumont. The Market to Hope center in Beaumont resembles a mini-HEB grocery store where persons in need of food can literally “shop” for what they need in the “store”. According to Gerard Parigi, director of Market to HOPE, “our clients can come in the store, get a grocery cart, and literally go up and down the aisles of the store, and pick out the foods they need. Unfortunately, we do not have the space for such an operation in Winnie, but our Market to HOPE food distribution in Winnie will be able to provide supplemental food needs to the members of the community that need it.” Fernandez said that the food panty in Winnie has a menu of foods available for distribution. Community members check off the food needed, and a volunteer will gather the food from the shelves and give it to the individual. Fernandez stressed, “When we give them food, we make sure that they are signed up to receive food in four weeks. We want to ensure that those in the community who need food, can receive it on a regular basis.”

  The Vine has always been a beehive of activity in the SVDP organization. “We are beyond blessed and thrilled that a very generous benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous has offered to build a new structure that will house The Vine at the same location. We are meeting with the County for all the appropriate permits to build the new building.” She added, “The Vine is a critical part of this organization. We are currently looking for a location to house the items we currently have. We will continue to accept donations and keep them in storage until the building is completed.”

 The hours for the Market to HOPE food bank are Tuesday and Thursday from 10am to 3pm, and the third Saturday of the month from 9am to Noon. It is encouraged to make an appointment so the volunteers will know how many people they need to assist in advance. Call 409-924-4435 to make an appointment. Please leave a message.

  The hours for The Vine are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10am to 4pm. A notice will be given when construction begins. It is anticipated to be about a five-month project.

  If you would like to volunteer, please call 409-924-4435. You can also register online at ccsetx.org and click on the tab to volunteer in Winnie. Fernandez also stressed that you do not have to be a Catholic to be a recipient of its services or a Catholic to volunteer. “Catholicism is the faith foundation of our organization. And the true definition of “catholic” is universal”, she said. “And that means everyone. Catholic Charities is here to help everyone.”