Food Pantry

Over 30 years ago, a small group of parishioners from Holy Family Catholic Church in Orlando saw a need to provide food to the less fortunate in the community. Following Christ’s command to ‘feed the hungry”,  they set the foundation for what would become St. Vincent de Paul, Holy Family Conference.  Together they started delivering food donations out of the back of a truck and making home visits to evaluate needs. 

Today, the mission continues. Our food pantry is busy providing over 240,000 pounds of fresh, frozen and packaged foods annually. Through the generosity of our parishioners and local partnerships, we receive food donations year round that help to supplement the discounted food we purchase from Second Harvest Food Bank.

In addition to providing food assistance and home visits to understand and evaluate needs, our committed Vincentians (volunteers) meet regularly with our guests and offer support, prayer and hope.

Souper Bowl of Caring

Everyone can be the MVP! In the spirit of the Super Bowl, we have an annual food drive at the same time called “The SOUPER Bowl of Caring” where we collect pantry essentials to stock our shelves for the year. Some of the staple items we request are peanut butter and jelly, soups, canned vegetables, canned fruit, rice, pasta and sauce. Items collected  help to ensure that we are able to provide healthy and consistent food offerings to our guests all year.  Our parish community continues to be very generous with donations, and we also partner with the other church ministries to help collect food items.

Home Visits

It all began with a home visit. Our Vincentian charism began when St. Vincent de Paul made a home visit in Chatillon in 1617. The spirituality of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul begins and lives in the home visit.

As we continue with our Vincentian charism into the present time of our Home Visits, we are blessed with profound grace to be able to continue to serve our guests with great gentleness and respect, bringing God’s love to every home. In home visits, we bring person-to-person relationships, promoting the dignity and well-being of every individual. We always strive to bring Jesus’ love to every brother or sister we visit. Contact us if you or someone you know would like to be added to our visitation list.

Easter Baskets

On Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and reminding us of the true meaning of love and sacrifice.

To share these lessons with our guests and their families, we prayerfully prepare  baskets filled with sweet treats, small toys and age appropriate content sharing the message of Easter for the children ages 3-9 of our guests. We distribute the baskets in the weeks before Easter.

Soles 4 Kids

Soles 4 Kids is a program with a long history at Holy Family. Over 30 years ago, a parishioner and her husband started the “Shoe Harvest” collecting back to school shoes for children in need.  The program has now become an annual project of St. Vincent de Paul and has been renamed “Soles 4 Kids”.

The Soles 4 Kids campaign collects donations of new, closed toe shoes for children ages 3-6 who are enrolled in Orange County Head Start Pre-K programs. Through the generosity of our parish community, we have been able to provide shoes for over 1,000 children each year who are less fortunate with the belief that every child deserves to start their academic school year off on the right foot (with new shoes!).

You can help! Beginning in August, there is a S4K display and shoe tags in the church narthex with the shoe sizes we are hoping to collect. Be sure to grab a tag (or 2!), purchase a new pair of school shoes and return them throughout the campaign. Monetary donations are always welcomed and appreciated for this program (no need to shop!).

Thanksgiving Baskets

Each year, our SVdP conference is pleased to distribute over 300 Thanksgiving boxes to our guests  We provide each of our families with  traditional Thanksgiving items, such as potatoes and gravy, stuffing, vegetables, soups, cranberry sauce and dessert items.  In addition to the box of food, we are able to give a Publix gift card to purchase a turkey to complete their holiday meal.

Most of the items are generously donated by our parishioners and the students from Holy Family Catholic School adopt this program for a service project.

Jesse Tree – Christmas Toy Drive

The Jesse Tree project is our annual Christmas toy drive for our families with children 2-12.

Each year, we display a Christmas tree in the church narthex with angel tags for the children in need. We collect the information from our SVdP pantry guests for their children and ask them for their “wish list”. Parishioners and their families can take an angel, purchase one of the gifts and return it (unwrapped) under the tree in time for Christmas delivery. Our guests are always so appreciative, and we know there is so much joy when those children receive their gift!

The Advent tradition of Jesus’ lineage is especially important during the Christmas season as we prepare for the celebration of His birth.

Fundraising and Other Events

As the needs in our community continue to grow, so does our need to create and develop events, drives and fundraisers. Our organization holds several events throughout the year including:

• Friends of the Poor Walk/Run
• Lend a Hand, Win a Grand

It is a great way for members of our community to get involved and support each worthy cause.