By Helen Klein
Truckloads of non-perishable food have been donated to the food pantry at St. Andrew the Apostle Church. The pantry, which is run by the St. Vincent de Paul Society, had been low on supplies – a situation which spurred the Acts of Kindness Com-mittee of the Bay Ridge Community Council (BRCC) to organize the food drive. The donations were brought to BRCC’s March meeting, which was held in the auditorium at St. Ephrem’s Church, 7415 Fort Hamilton Parkway. Boxes and bags of food were lined up against the wall and on the auditorium’s stage as donors brought their contributions in. Don Cohen, the treasurer of the church’s St. Vincent de Paul Society, which runs the food pantry, said he was “just overwhelmed” by the response. “It’s beautiful to see all this food being donated so generously. This certainly will go a long way,” Cohen told the crowd. Approximately 40 clients come on the third Tuesday of the month to the food pantry to collect bags of food, according to Cohen. Depending on their need and the size of their family, he said, they are given anywhere from one to four bags of non-perishable items. Besides members of BRCC, those who participated in the effort included the Bay Ridge Center for Community Services, the Bay Ridge Consumer Federation, the Bay Ridge Federal Credit Union, AhlTone Communica-tions, Capitol One Bank, the law offices of Connors and Sullivan, St. Anselm’s Church, and the offices of State Senator Marty Golden and Assembly-member Janele Hyer-Spencer. The church is located at 6713 Ridge Boulevard. Additional donations can be brought to the parish house, when the rectory is open, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The phone number at the parish house is 718-680-1010.
