Cardinal Dolan Teams With Goya and Pols, Feeding the Poor on Holy Thursday

By Brianna Mikes

 

His Eminence Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Director of Public Relations of Goya Foods Rafael Toro were joined Thursday morning by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York at the annual Holy Thursday Food Distribution, providing food pantry meals at Saint Rose of Lima Church.

They were together to celebrate and to feed.

“We are celebrating this morning,” said Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of NY in Spanish, the language he chose to use. “Thank you for being here.”

“We are a working community,” said state Assemblymember Carmen De La Rosa. “And, with that, there is dignity. We would like to thank Catholic Charities, Cardinal Dolan — Goya for their dedication to our community, and the parish here, Saint Rose of Lima, for making sure that on this Holy Thursday, our community is not only able to nourish our spirit, but also be able to nourish our bodies with this food.”

Director of PR Rafael Toro announced the donation of 300,000 pounds of food, which will provide nearly 500,000 meals to New Yorkers in need. Goya Foods has been a generous supporter of the Catholic Charities’ food pantries, donating over 1.5 million pounds of food to Catholic Charities of New York since the start of its support.

“No más palabras, tengo hambre (no more words, I am hungry),” said Cardinal Dolan.

“I love you, and it’s an honor and a joy for me to be with you. You don’t know how appropriate this is — Jesus had his last supper, and Jesus shared food with his apostles, and he continues to do that through this church and Catholic Charities, and through the generosity and contribution of the great people of Goya. I bless you and your families this Easter.”

The annual Holy Thursday food distribution with Goya reaffirms Catholic Charities’ partnerships with programs to provide more than 4 million meals to hungry New Yorkers. Community and parish–based food programs and pantries offer non–perishable food for families to bring home, while many locations provide hot meals on site. In 2018, Catholic Charities received 600,000 pounds of food, half of which Goya donated, translating to nearly 1 million meals that were re–distributed to their partner programs.

“I feel proud to be here,” said Marita Landaveri, Consul General of Peru. “And, I am happy to have been of help to Catholic Charities — it is an honor.”