Operation Rice Bowl helps poor in Utah and around the world
SALT LAKE CITY — Catholics in Utah will join millions of others worldwide in the Lenten practices of fasting and alms giving. In the United States, many Catholics set aside the money they would otherwise have spent on a big Friday meal and donate it to Operation Rice Bowl. Catholic Relief Services uses the money from Operation Rice Bowl to help people stricken by poverty throughout the world. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds remain in the local community. In the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, the local portion is donated to parishes for food banks, to Catholic Community Services and to the Cathedral of the Madeleine’s Good Samaritan program. The Good Samaritan program began in 1984. Last month, it provided 6,196 sack lunches, as well as numerous clothing items such as gloves, hats and socks, said Mark Wondergem, the program director; last year almost 97,000 lunches were distributed. When the budget allows, Wondergem purchases items such as socks, which are a necessity for people living on the street, he said. "When your feet are cold, you are bone chilled. And if you’re sleeping outside all the time – you’re homeless – that’s a miserable way to spend the night." One of the regular patrons at the Good Samaritan was found frozen to death a year ago Christmas, Wondergem said. In the past, about 85 percent of the Good Samaritan patrons were men, but "we’re seeing proportionally more families, mother, father, children. I’ve seen people out here … with a baby in a little carrier sitting out there having lunch and you can tell by the baggage they have with them that they’re on the road. They’re traveling, they’re homeless, they’re in need of assistance," he said. No documentation is required to receive a sack lunch from the Good Samaritan, which typically provides a bologna and cheese sandwich and snack items. Until last March, people who came to the Good Samaritan could get a second sandwich, but because of budget constraints that practice was discontinued. However, by participating in the Grocery Rescue Program and a partnership with First Step House, now three snack items, including fresh fruit, now are given, Wondergem said. The Good Samaritan receives no state or federal funding, it runs solely on grants, donations and the volunteers who make the sandwiches and man the door. Among the volunteers are Rose Gillespie and Jennifer Gillespie, a mother-and-daughter team who usually make sandwiches twice a week but occasionally hand out the lunches. "I get more out of it from the smiles on the faces," Jennifer Gillespie said. "Sometimes we don’t have as much food as we want to give out, but then you see a little girl get a cup of hot chocolate and see her smile and know that’s the most important thing in her life, and that just breaks your heart." In the 35 years since Operation Rice Bowl began in the Diocese of Allentown, Penn. in response to the drought in the African Sahel, $191 million has been put toward projects such as helping farmers in Bolivia receive training to improve crop yields, children in Afghanistan gain more opportunities for quality education, communities in Ethiopia access reliable water sources even during times of drought, and many others, according to http://orb.crs.org. Donations for Operation Rice Bowl will be collected throughout the 40-day Lenten season in second collections throughout the United States.
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