Get Involved
Our Bag, Our Community“There are things in life that are ‘yours,’ things that are ‘mine’ and things that are ‘ours.’
When people are hungry, food is ‘ours.’” – Fr. Jim Lyons
How it Began
Fr. Jim Lyons, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Gladstone, made this simple pitch to his parishioners in the mid-1970s to kick off a holiday food drive, “There are things in life that are ‘yours,’ things that are ‘mine’ and things that are ‘ours.’ When people are hungry, food is ‘ours.’”
He then distributed grocery bags with the simple message: “Our Bag.” St. Charles Parish has continued this holiday tradition ever since.
Join Us
Fr. Lyons’ message was simple, yet profound. Due to the pandemic we have become more cocooned, so it is good to re-engage with the needs of the broader community. What better time to do so than the Christmas season.
Every day at our Centers, we see people who do not have enough food. They come to our pantries and to our community kitchen, One City Café, for lunch and dinner.
We ask you to join our effort. You can participate by making a donation or if you’d like some of our “Our Bag, Our Community” red bags for your own mini-food drive, we’ll send them to you. Let’s see how many bags together we can fill.
How you can help:
Sponsor a Bag of Groceries
Sponsor a bag in the Our Bag, Our Community Food Drive. Your gift will cover the cost of groceries for a family this holiday season, straight from your heart to their pantry.
Request Grocery Bags
Would your parish, school, family, or other group like to conduct a food drive? We’ll provide the grocery bags for you to fill; your gifts will go straight to families.
RSVP to Drop off your Donations
Set a time of your choosing or RSVP to drop off your donations.