Social Justice

Food Pantry
Sacred Heart has a full service pantry, providing not only food but also paper products, personal hygiene items and cleaning products. We assist clients referred to us by Love, Inc. and other agencies. THIS PANTRY IS AVAILABLE TO ANY PARISHIONER WHO IS IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE. Volunteers are needed to

  1. pick up food ordered from Feeding America at the Muskegon Depot site (corner of Wood and Irwin) and Love, Inc.,
  2. shop for items not available through Feeding America or Love, Inc.,
  3. stock the food in the pantry
  4. repackage food that comes in bulk
  5. pack and distribute the food for client

Food Truck from Feeding America
Feeding America Food Bank Truck links people in need with surplus food. A truck is sponsored periodically by Sacred Heart. It is an outreach of our Food Pantry. The truck contains mostly perishables, vegetables, bread, baked goods, fruit in season, and other items that are available on the particular day from the Food Bank. Volunteers are needed to coordinate this event and distribute food, at no charge, to the needy residents of the community.

Souper Bowl Sunday
Volunteers are needed to arrange for publicity, recruit children of the parish, count donations and report results to the National Organizers. The children donate all money collected to the Sacred Heart Food Pantry. This event is usually the first weekend of February.

Brown Bag Collection
One Sunday each year the children of the parish distribute brown grocery bags to the parishioners to be filled and returned, thereby helping to restock our food pantry. A volunteer is needed to coordinate this effort. This event usually takes place the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Christmas Giving Tree
This is an Advent project. Parishioners select a name tag from the tree and provide a gift (or gifts) for children in the foster care program. These names are provided to us by Michigan Department of Human Services. Volunteers are needed to prepare a name tag for each child, put up and decorate the tree with name tags. Volunteers also insure that all tags have been returned with a gift. The gifts are then grouped by social worker and bagged for easy distribution.

Christmas Baskets
Sacred Heart gives Christmas Food Baskets to parishioners in need, or any one referred by a parishioner. Volunteers are needed to coordinate, shop as needed for groceries, wrap boxes, pack and deliver baskets to those in need. Help is needed one day (about 4 hours) in the month of December.