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The St. Vincent de Paul dining hall serves hundreds of hot meals weekly
YOUNGSTOWN
Patrons of St. Vincent de Paul Society plunked down $25 for a fundraiser steak dinner with trimmings Saturday at St. Christine Social Hall to help the organization continue to serve hundreds of hot meals weekly at its new dining hall at 252 E. Wood St.
The money raised at the event, all of which benefits St. Vincent de Paul Society, included a 50/50 raffle and basket auction. In addition to the dining hall, the fundraiser helps the organization’s food pantry, which provides food for 30 days for more than 30 families each week, said Glenniece Bodo, St. Vincent de Paul events coordinator.
The food pantry, located at 314 Via Mount Carmel, is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The dining hall, located in the basement of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church, serves hot meals from 10:30 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday and breakfast at 10 a.m. on Saturdays.
By moving to its new location on Wood Street nearer to the East Side, the St. Vincent de Paul dining hall, formerly located at 208 W. Front St. downtown, is “doing wonderfully, and we’re seeing an influx of new people. Our goal is to help people in need,” said Bodo, a graduate of Youngstown State University.
“We need fundraisers like the steak fry to keep going. Also, it is a great event, which brings parishioners and volunteers and other supporters together,” said Jessica Robinson of Hubbard, executive director of the Mahoning County St. Vincent de Paul Society.
The event attracted about 200 in 2016, and as many or more were anticipated this year, said Bodo just after the doors opened at 2 p.m.
Bernie Demachko was among the volunteers who attended Saturday’s steak fry, which is one of St. Vincent de Paul’s two major annual fundraisers. The other is in February.
A Youngstown resident, Demachko, a member of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, has been doing volunteer work for the dining hall for 20 years “to help people who are less fortunate. It’s not enough to just go to church. You have do to something besides that,” she said.
She explained how the dining hall volunteers are organized.
The various parishes alternate providing cooking and serving food for a week at a time. St. Michael in Canfield provides the Saturday breakfasts, she said.
Robinson, who was an intern for the Trumbull County St. Vincent de Paul Society while she attended YSU, first moved to the Mahoning County St. Vincent de Paul as its events coordinator and was recently named its director.
This fundraiser leads up to the holiday months when the need increases, she said.
The Mahoning County St. Vincent de Paul Society is also accepting donations for a thrift store it expects to open by the end of this month at 212 Court St. Needed are household items such as furniture, appliances and pots and pans.