Thanksgiving at St. Mary’s: No Neighbor Goes Without
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. For most of us, it means a full table, family around it, and a day to give thanks. For our neighbors who are struggling, it can mean the opposite — a holiday that only sharpens what is missing, and a week when there is not enough food in the house.
That is why the Order of Malta and St. Vincent de Paul are working through this holiday season to make sure no neighbor in our community goes without.
At St. Mary’s Food Pantry in Walnut Creek, the Thursday pantry — operated by St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County, which has provided vital support to the community for over 50 years — will be stocked for the holiday weeks by the Order of Malta Ministry Van. Timothy K. Powers, KM, Hospitaller of the Oakland Region of the Order of Malta, leads the van’s bi-weekly Tuesday trips to the Food Bank, picking up essential food items and delivering them to St. Mary’s, alongside fellow Knights Greg Smith, KM, and Matthew Kemner, KM, with Dr. Michael Matly, KM, helping with the food pickups, and Alison Yount, DM, the charity coordinator, serving at the pantry with the other Knights, Dames, Auxiliary members, and volunteers of the Order.
The need here in Contra Costa County is real, and it is close to home. According to Feeding America’s 2023 data, 10.3 percent of people in Contra Costa County — about 1 in 10 of our neighbors — face food insecurity. They are working families, seniors on fixed incomes, and parents choosing between food and the bills that keep the lights on. Many of them are people you would never guess are struggling.
The holiday season is the busiest time of year for food banks and pantries, and Thanksgiving is when the gap is felt most. A family that is getting by in an ordinary week can find itself with nothing to put on a Thanksgiving table. The food picked up on a Tuesday and handed out on a Thursday at St. Mary’s is what stands between that family and an empty holiday.
The Order of Malta has been serving at St. Mary’s for three years, in partnership with St. Vincent de Paul. Together, they continue to answer the call to serve our Lord’s poor with dignity and love — not only at Thanksgiving, but week after week, Thursday after Thursday.
If you are able to help this holiday season — with food, with a donation, or with your time — your local food pantry is the best place to start. And if you are the one who needs help, know that St. Mary’s is here, and you are welcome.
Learn more about the Order of Malta — 900+ years of service to the sick and the poor — at the Order of Malta Western Association.
Learn more about the Food Bank at foodbankccs.org.
Learn more about St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County at svdp-cc.org.
