Some of you have asked questions about the discontinuance of the Outreach Food Pantry here at Saint Mary’s.  May I provide some information and background?  As you may know, Saint Mary’s has hosted the Food Pantry since 2013, and they have operated out of the Saint Mary School facility for most of that time.  To back up just a bit, though, in 2002, the school building was rented to Head Start.  When the Food Pantry came to us in 2013, Saint Mary’s and Head Start worked with them in finding a way to allow them to operate. All was working well, until earlier this year when the COVID-19 pandemic began, which created significant difficulties for both the parish and Head Start to continue operations in compliance with all state and local health directives.  We found that we needed to utilize all space on the parish premises to meet the safety and health guidelines required to address the pandemic.  This meant that, unfortunately, the food pantry could not continue to use the space at Saint Mary’s, as that space was needed for the Head Start program.    The community should be assured that the services provided by the food pantry and soup kitchen will continue to be met by the Catholic Church in Newburgh.  The food pantries operated by the Parish of Sacred Heart – Saint Francis of Assisi and at the Saint Patrick church location will continue to operate as usual. The Parish of Saint Patrick – Saint Mary is grateful to all those dedicated individuals and supporters who have operated the Saint Mary Food Pantry since its inception in 2013.