Bakery Delivery Ministry

Waste not, Want not..... Can you help?

You can easily help to stop hunger for a myriad of people with a simple food delivery. Can you spare a couple of hours on one Saturday, even if only once a year?  "Waste not, want not" rings true every Saturday in the hands of those who give of themselves to the service of those in most need, hence our

Lord Jesus.  This has been going on for over a decade in our Parish, and for this best kept secret we are perpetually grateful.  You need to know from the man who began it all......

“Years ago, we instituted a weekly mission to provide outdated (in many cases only one day old) bakery products to those in need. A friend introduced me to the Bakery Manager at Stop n Shop Supermarket in Watchung, NJ. This generous food store chain provides bakery products to charitable entities for distribution to the needy. Our parish was assigned Saturdays as our regular pick up day. Immaculate Conception Church volunteers sign up for a particular date and through bitter cold, snowstorms, rain and brutal heat conditions they drive to the Stop n Shop to arrive between 8:30/9:00AM.

Typically, we are given rolls, bagels, buns, donuts, pastries, bread, layer and sheet cakes, pies and cookies in an amount which fills 5 to 7 large plastic bags.  Most are packaged in their original container and are very presentable, not leftovers. Initially, the next stop was the Franciscan Friary in Newark. The Friars would use some of the goods for their own use and distribute the excess to those in need in the neighborhood. A side note; one day I was at the Friary and during a conversation with one of the Brothers he mentioned "sometimes we don't know where our next meal is coming from". That was the impetus to start this ministry. At times the Friars were overwhelmed with the volume of baked goods and asked us to find others more in need. One of our volunteer drivers suggested St. Joseph's Community Center in Elizabeth. Every visit to St. Joseph’s is emotional and fulfilling. The homeless, hungry, poor and needy are very welcoming and are eager to help unload the vehicle for this week's treats, perhaps their first nourishment in quite some time. Our Lord charged us to "Feed the Hungry" in the Corporal Works of Mercy.

Since the Bakery Run Ministry started in September  2009, our Ministry Leader, Peter Smeretsky calculated that by December 30, 2020 we will have made 585 Saturday deliveries to the hungry who anxiously await the arrival of the bakery products delivered by the volunteers of The Church of the Immaculate Conception Parish. We cannot imagine the thousands, yes thousands, of bakery products our ministry volunteers have delivered out of their selfless Christian generosity. May God bless them for this and their ongoing efforts to serve the least of these… hence serving our Lord Jesus. We at Immaculate Conception are making an effort to do our part. Volunteers are most welcomed. Call Peter at 908-507-0356.

“When people were hungry, Jesus didn’t say, “Now is that political, or social?” He said, “I feed you.” Because the good news to a hungry person is bread.” – Archbishop Desmond Tutu

“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.” – Saint Mother Teresa