It took a lot of work, but volunteers at the Church of the Holy Cross food pantry were able to provide more than 100 families in Dover with traditional Thanksgiving meals this holiday season.

    It’s something they do every Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, on top of their twice-weekly food giveaways.

    And while the work is demanding of their time — hours are spent gathering donations, sorting and stacking food, preparing grocery bags full of edibles and handing them out — the volunteers feel it is something well worth doing.

    “It takes a lot more than you’d think,” noted Chuck Helwig, one of the 35 Holy Cross members who work out of the church rectory’s basement on State Street.

    “But everyone does their part,” he added.

    It gives everyone a real sense of satisfaction, said Malcolm Comstock, a retired New Jersey school teacher.

    “It’s your chance to help someone less fortunate,” he said. “You get a sense that you’re doing something, not just wasting your time watching TV.”

    The volunteers, known informally as The Samaritans, work with local stores and the public to gather mostly non-perishable foods for the pantry. This includes anything from packaged macaroni and cheese to cans of prepared meat. Once at the food pantry, it all is categorized and inventoried, then stacked on waiting shelves.

    The Holy Cross group gathers the food in conjunction with the First Baptist Church and the Calvary Assembly of God, which operate their own food pantry.

    The volunteers prepare the brown grocery bags for the food each week, filling them with enough to provide enough food for each member of a requesting family.

    Considering the weekly workload, it took just a little more effort to put together the annual Thanksgiving bags of food.

    Supplies for the holiday included a frozen turkey, along with stuffing, cranberry sauce, instant mashed potatoes and various canned vegetables, as well as perishable items, added to the grocery sacks just before delivery, that included sticks of margarine and dinner rolls.

    By helping, especially around the holidays, church members are fulfilling God’s will, noted Rich Katcher.

    “We’re responding to the second great commandment by caring for the least of our brothers and sisters,” he said. “We thus fulfill the Lord’s admonition to love our neighbors and our enemies.”

    People who request the supplies must go through an application and screening process that starts at the state Division of Health and Social Services and Catholic Charities, said Kathy Lessard, who helps coordinate the food pantry. They then receive vouchers that are presented at the pantry.

    Last week, there were five to six cars lined up at one time outside the church to collect the holiday food, as well as others parked nearby. The cars were loaded up by younger volunteers, mostly students at Holy Cross School or at Saint Thomas Moore Preparatory School.

    “This is good because I feel better when I’m helping people,” said Amanda Taylor, 13.

    “It’s a good way to help the community,” added STM senior Samantha Mild.

    And it feels good realizing people now will have a filling Thanksgiving meal thanks to their hard work.

    “Most of the people appreciate it, and they tell you so,” Comstock said.
     Email Jeff Brown at jeff.brown@doverpost.com.