The Marquette District* of St. Vincent de Paul has been helping those in need for more than a hundred years. Typically, assistance has included food (pantries in both Gwinn and Marquette), clothing (vouchers through our thrift stores), rent (especially to prevent eviction), heat, utilities, and prescriptions. A service that was added just over a year ago is assistance with basic funeral expenses. However, “No act of charity is foreign to the Society. (The Rule of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul).” This means that any request for assistance receives thoughtful consideration.
Food assistance has been and continues to be provided to our neighbors in need. The fiscal year runs from October 1st to September 30th of the following year. Note that pantry patrons are allowed to receive food once per month, so a family that came in each of the 12 months would represent 12 families in the totals.
Just in the past fiscal year of 2022, the Gwinn pantry provided food assistance to more than 1,000 families and 3,000 individuals. More than 42,900 pounds of food was distributed. For the current fiscal year, Gwinn is on track to serve over 1,600 families and more than 3,500 individuals again.
At the Marquette pantry, approximately 1,700 families and 4,200 individuals were provided over 120,000 pounds of food in fiscal year 2022. For the current fiscal year, we are on a pace to serve approximately 1,800 families, more than 4,000 individuals and distribute more than 128,000 pounds of food.
*The Marquette District consists of four conferences in Marquette (St. Michael, St. Peter, St. Christopher, and St. Louis the King), St. Anthony Conference in Gwinn, and St. Rita Conference in Trenary.