Parish food bank in Park City seeks volunteers, donations

Friday, Jun. 23, 2023

PARK CITY — For almost 30 years, the food bank and Diapers Grab ‘N’ Go ministry at Saint Mary of the Assumption Parish in Park City has been lending a hand to people who are in need.

The food bank was established in 1994 by Sister Karen Stern, SHF, who served as the parish’s pastoral associate from 1992 to 2002. She died in 2018 at the motherhouse of her religious order, the Sisters of the Holy Family in Fremont, Calif.

For the past 15 years Sarah Dellenbach, a St. Mary parishioner, has been active at the food bank, first as a volunteer and now as the manager.

“I have probably been coordinating it for the past five years or so … and I love it,” she said.

Dellenbach decided to volunteer her time, talents and treasure as a way “to step up and do something for the parish and the community outside of my own Park City bubble,” she said, pointing out that feeding the hungry is one of the Corporal Works of Mercy.

Romans 12:20, states, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.” 

“No one is exempt from the call to feed the hungry,” Dellenbach said. “God calls us to meet the needs of even those we might call ‘enemies.’”

When Dellenbach started in the ministry, the food bank was open once a month, but these days it is open every Tuesday from noon to 4 p.m. at the Old Town Chapel in downtown Park City. 

“So now they can come every Tuesday, and we have all their groceries packed up and ready for them,” Dellenbach said; diapers also are available. 

Saint Mary’s Food Bank and Diapers Grab ‘N’ Go ministry serves anyone in need, but generally their clients are hospitality workers in the area. They stock only non-perishable items, “so we are not as big as others, but we offer what our patrons have told me are their staple food items,” Dellenbach said.

Among those items are dried rice and beans, masa flour, vegetable oil, pasta and cereal.

“We used to serve maybe anywhere from 10 to 25 families every week, but when Covid hit our numbers went up to almost 75 families per week,” she said.

Last year the number of those using the food bank went down, but in recent months they have seen a surge, she said. “The cost of life has increased so dramatically that it is leaving a real impact.”

With the increase in demand, the need for both volunteers and donations has increased.

“We do two two-hour volunteer shifts, and we are always open [on Tuesdays] unless it’s a holiday,” she said. “This is a relatively easy ministry to volunteer for.”

Volunteering at the food bank “gives you a [different] perspective of life and what other people are going through,” Dellenbach said. “Nowadays it is really important to give whatever you can, whether it is your time or your money. It can be so helpful to other families.”

Donations of non-perishable food items are always welcome; they can be dropped off during public hours inside St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, 1505 W. White Pine Canyon Road, Park City, or at St. Mary’s Old Town social hall, 121 Park Ave. Park City on Tuesdays from 10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.

Some of the most requested items are white rice, vegetable oil, dried pinto and black beans, canned tuna and chicken, ramen, boxed macaroni and cheese, canned fruit, pasta and diapers, especially sizes 4, 5 and 6.

For information about volunteering or donating, contact Sarah Dellenbach, sdellenbach04@comcast.net.