FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 24, 2014n

CARDINAL DOLAN LEADS ANNUAL CATHOLIC CHARITIES DISTRIBUTION OF THANKSGIVING MEALS

Timothy Cardinal Dolan will lead the annual Catholic Charities distribution of Thanksgiving Meals to more than 400 needy New Yorkers on Tuesday, November 25th beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Community Center at 34 West 134th Street in Harlem.

In 2014, 5.8 million meals were provided in New York City and the Hudson Valley through a federation of agencies operated and supported by Catholic Charities. The network of 90 agencies includes a Mobile Food Pantry with the flexibility to respond to need as it arises in our community. In one neighborhood alone, the Mobile Food Pantry responded to a 78% increase in families served between the years 2006 and 2010
In New York State, more than 3 million people rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or Food Stamps) to meet their basic food needs. During this historic time of need, hungry families come to our food pantries, soup kitchens, senior center even the "newly poor" who have never asked for help before. Many are unemployed or underemployed, families with children, seniors and the disabled
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