Church Receives Grant for Aid at the Pump, Supermarket

St. Joseph Catholic Church received a $1,500 grant recently from the National Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to help locals in need of help filling up their gas tanks and cupboards.

“The grant will be used to purchase gift cards to a local supermarket for perishable items and certificates to a local gas station for those people who need to travel to a doctor’s appointment or to get to work,” said Adele Fiorentine, president of the local SVP chapter.

With the price of gas on Long Island typically 30 cents above the national average, and work for many people hard to come by (as illustrated by one recent documentary, "Hard Times: Lost on Long Island"), the extra help comes at a time many in the area could use the help.

“We are serving more and more people in need than ever before, so we’re grateful for the extra funds,” said Fiorentine, who added that those in need don't need to be a member of the church to seek aid.

Anyone interested can come by the church pantry, which is open on Mondays and Thursdays from 1 to 3 p.m., or can call the parish center at (631) 269-6635.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an international, nonprofit, Catholic lay organization of more than 770,000 men and women.