Emergency Food Cupboard

Jesus' mandate to feed the hungry is one which we gladly accept.

Calvary St. Andrew’s Emergency Food Cupboard serves the South Wedge section of Rochester, New York. We also serve people referred by Lifeline, non-profit agencies and service based organizations.

The Emergency Food Cupboard is solely run by volunteers.

To Qualify- Participants must be income eligible and provide a Photo I.D and proof of address. Participants are allowed to utilize the pantry once every six months.

In 2003, Calvary St. Andrew’s Emergency Food Cupboard served 682 households that included 916 Adults and 702 Children. A total of 1618 individuals were given 3 meals a day, for 3 days, for a total of 14,562 meals. Our cupboard feeds not only the poor, disabled and the elderly, but also the working poor, the newly unemployed and families in crisis.

We stock our shelves with food donated by the public and we purchase food from Foodlink.

 Wegmans

On Tuesday,and Friday volunteers (drivers) go to the shipping and receiving department of Wegmans at Marketplace to pick up fresh fruit, vegetables, bread, cakes and cookies. Many of these items have expired or are close to expiration. The food is sorted and given to a fairly regular group of people who come early and wait for it. It all disappears like magic!

 Bread Ministry

For over 25 years the Monks at the Abbey of the Genesee have sent fresh bread from their bakery into the city. Calvary St. Andrews has been a recipient of the bread which is then given to families and individuals in the neighborhood. Each week the Abbey of the Genesee delivers us 160 loaves of Monks Bread to be distributed to our neighbors in the South Wedge and to the residents at 500 South View Tower.

 Preschool and Family Center

The collaboration between the CSA Emergency Food Cupboard and Family Resource Center programs at CSA is strong.   Families are invited to participate in the weekly Wegman’s food donations as well as emergency food assistance whenever needed.  Nutritious meals are also made available through the food pantry for regular parent education classes.

 “The demand for food at Calvary St. Andrews Church is echoed throughout the Rochester area and the nation. Both overshadowed and made worse by other crises - everything from the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, to layoffs, the ice storm and the war with Iraq - the problem of hunger has gotten worse, not better. It affects every age group, though children seem especially endangered. Vulnerable and unable to fend for themselves, many young people are not eating well. And hunger is everywhere here in the city, in the suburbs, in rural communities ”
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Series on Hunger April 13-14, 2003

“Calvary St. Andrews Parish is well known throughout Rochester for the quality of service you provide and, perhaps even more importantly, for the high level of compassion and personal commitment shown to individuals and families who are in need of your assistance. The program has proven to be a cornerstone of support for the hungry by providing resources and services that are irreplaceable and far-reaching in our community.”
Senator Joseph E. Robach - 56th District

“My husband and went over to the church and talked to Karl, He said he would help us with some food. I was so overextended with emotion I just was speechless. It surely brought tears of joy to our eyes and sunshine to our hearts. You would have thought we were carrying bags of gold in those food bags we were given. Such a weight was lifted off me that day. We were not only given bags of food but we were given a gift of hope.”
Charles and Sharon S.