St. Ambrose Parish collects 600 pounds of baby food

Intermountain Catholic

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Joyce Griste (left) and Marlene Skillings explain the Baby Food Drive to parishioners following all the weekend Masses at St. Ambrose Parish.IC photo courtesy of Joyce Griste

SALT LAKE CITY — St. Ambrose parishioner Joyce Griste read a story about the needs of clients of Crossroads Urban Center in a March issue of The Salt Lake Tribune and decided she wanted to help. As a result, St. Ambrose Parish collected over 600 pounds of baby food and other supplies.

Crossroads is a multipurpose nonprofit, organization in Salt Lake City which assists low income, disabled, and minority Utahns to meet their basic survival needs by providing them with discounted supplemental food.

"There are some families in which the main breadwinner may have lost his or her job and the family needs temporary help, or low income families who simply cannot survive earning a minimum-wage income. They need ongoing assistance," said Rachel Fischbein, Manager of Crossroads Urban Center food distribution.

"The Crossroads Food Co-op offers select grocery staples at up to 50 percent below retail," said Fischbein. "Crossroads operates through collective buying, low over-head, and a lot of volunteers. Each month members pre-order their groceries. The Co-op buys the food from local and national producers and wholesalers, who deliver the food to the Crossroads warehouse."

St. Ambrose Parish was in the beginning stage of forming the St. Ambrose Council of Women, and Griste thought collecting baby food for Crossroads would be a good way for the women’s council to get started. The women’s council sponsored the baby food drive in May in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Mother’s Day.

Griste and co-chairwoman Kathleen Stewart invited the parish to a baby shower honoring homeless and hungry babies. They passed out flyers listing items from a Crossroads wish list, and asked everyone to bring a donation. The list included such items as soy and milk-based formula, baby food, diapers, baby wipes, shampoo, lotion, bibs, pacifiers, and baby bottles.

"It was a huge help because we use a lot of diapers and baby formula, which are expensive," said Fischbein. "Even though some of these mothers are on the State of Utah Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program, which provides supplemental food to single mothers with children, it is not always enough to meet their needs. This was an enormous project, and we want to thank St. Ambrose for their huge effort and success."

Griste said this project was very rewarding and she wants to thank all of the volunteers and parishioners who helped make the project successful.

"Once people started hearing about the project, they got excited and involved, even offering the use of their trucks to transport the donations," said Griste. "We set up seven bins in the back of the church, and after the Masses, they were full. Some parishioners would come out of Mass and say they forgot their items and would give a monetary donation. Others would tell us to wait while they ran to the grocery store. They often came back saying they saw other St. Ambrose parishioners in the baby food and baby product isles purchasing items as well.

"It was amazing how people wanted to get involved and help," said Griste. "Many parishioners realized they could be in this situation. People know when babies are hungry they cry and they want food, and that fact reached the hearts of many."

Griste said bible study groups, the staff and students of J.E. Cosgriff Memorial School, and friends and neighbors of St. Ambrose parishioners all participated in the project. Robin Giovacchini, a St. Ambrose parishioner and vice principal of St. Vincent de Paul School, had students from the St. Vincent honor society contribute donations for the babies in need.

"I would like to see the baby food drive be an ongoing project for Crossroads so the shelves can remain stocked," said Griste. "I hope other parishes in the Diocese of Salt Lake City will be willing to continue this project."