Donate and Distribute Food

Catholic Charities' St. Lucy Food Project is our way of addressing the problem of hunger – or "food insecurity'' – within our Diocese. This program offers an opportunity to live out your faith by directly serving the hungry. As Christ said: "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matt 25:40).

Almost a quarter of a million people in the Diocese of Arlington are “food insecure,” meaning they do not know where their next meal is coming from. Our St. Lucy Food Project supplies and operates three Catholic Charities pantries that feed the hungry within their communities: Christ House in Alexandria, Leesburg Regional Office, and Loaves and Fishes in Front Royal.

Catholic Charities depends on generous donations from parish and community food drives to supply pantries that feed families throughout our diocese. Our Fall Harvest is our largest food drive during the year. Here is a list of upcoming Fall Harvest food drives throughout the Diocese.

About the St. Lucy Food Project Warehouse

St. Lucy's food warehouse serves as a distribution center to supply food to the three pantries – as well as 69 other parish, interfaith, community and government pantries within the Diocese.    

A key component of the St. Lucy Food Project is its emphasis on providing a balanced diet for the men, women and families who come for assistance. The warehouse and two of Catholic Charities pantries now include refrigerator and freezer units to store healthier fresh and frozen food: meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables. Catholic Charities relies on partnerships with local farms and food producers to stock its refrigerator shelves. Parish youth groups and families often pick this farm fresh produce for St. Lucy.

The warehouse also offers its partner pantries traditional non-perishable foods, such as canned and boxed peanut butter, tuna, cereal, rice and beans. This food is gathered St. Lucy Food Project collection drives and sorted and stacked by parish and community volunteers. 

How You Can Help

Catholic Charities' St. Lucy Food Project depends upon a growing network of volunteers to make possible its growing response to those in need.

Volunteer opportunities include:

1. Conducting a food drive at your parish, school, or business
2. Sorting and packing food at the Manassas warehouse
3. Driving a van or truck to retrieve and deliver food from parishes or other donation sites to pantries throughout the Diocese
4. Helping clients receive services from a pantry network across the Diocese

The St. Lucy Project Food Drive Kit

Feeding the Hungry, Nourishing the Soul

To conduct a food drive in your parish, school, or place of business please download the Food Drive Kit as a guide for your event. To set up your event, please contact  FoodDrive@ccda.net or call (703) 479-2975 x103. You will truly help feed the hungry of the Diocese of Arlington.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please call (703) 479-2975 ext. 100 or email elizabeth.gibbons@ccda.net. Thank you for your support!