Works of Mercy— BINGO!

Susan BerrymanAll Stories, Featured

I am a theology teacher at Holy Cross High School. I teach juniors, and always try to tie service opportunities into the curriculum to help them meet the annual service hour requirements we have at Holy Cross. 
 
This year, I gave each student a "Works of Mercy” bingo card to fill out over the course of the year.  Each square listed a single action, like "feed the hungry" or "clothe the naked,” as you would imagine.  
 
This quarter, I offered my students a chance to bring in food to count toward their service hours. But the catch was, they had to do more than just donate a bag of food to Catholic Charities.  
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Sharron Hilbrecht      

It is one thing to read about Catholic social teachings like "Options for the Poor and Vulnerable," but we wanted to dig deeper and see what “hunger” and “poverty” might look and feel like in more real terms best we could. 

So we discussed what it might be like to be hungry and going to a food pantry only to be handed a jar of peanut butter that you can't eat because you are allergic to it.

Or how you may have a favorite recipe, but don't have the right spices or ingredients to make it. 

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We discussed how frustrating it might be to have someone else pick out the food for your family, and how much dignity it would give a person to be able to choose what they want their family to eat.  We also talked about how much food might go to waste when people are given food that they can't eat or don't like. 
 
Next, I had them think of their favorite family recipe.  What did they like about it?  What made it special?  Were there any traditions surrounding the dish?  Was it passed down through generations?  
 
I had them write a reflection on the dish and what made it so special.  They had to copy down the recipe and then purchase all of the non-perishable ingredients for that dish. 

If it needed oil or salt or taco seasoning, they had to buy everything that went into that dish.  It could be chocolate chip pancakes or spaghetti, but all the non-perishable ingredients had to be in the bag along with the recipe and reflection. 

This was a cool experience because they had never thought about how someone might need oil or garlic salt or cinnamon. They hadn't considered allergies or dietary preferences.

I think this project opened a lot of eyes and taught them a lot about how something as simple as having a choice can give someone dignity.

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Holy Cross students packing up food items, recipes and reflections to deliver to the Father Jack Jones Food Pantry.

Sharron Hilbrecht 
Theology Teacher (Retired)
Holy Cross High School
 
Catholic Charities of Louisville operates three major food pantries that fight hunger within our community, each guided by the principle of “human dignity:” Sister Visitor Center, a choice food pantry in west Louisville; the Father Jack Jones Food Pantry on the campus of Holy Name Church in south Louisville; and the Bread For Life choice food pantry in Bardstown serving Nelson County. Visit cclou.org/foodsecurity to learn more, get involved, or donate.

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