Holy Spirit Parish expands hunger-relief outreach

Soddy-Daisy Catholics are partnering with Rise Against Hunger to help people worldwide

By Bill Brewer

Hunger impacts parishes across the Diocese of Knoxville, and many are doing their part to alleviate the need in their communities and in other parts of the world.

Holy Spirit Parish in Soddy-Daisy is among them and is now expanding its outreach beyond Hamilton County.

Parishioners there, who for years have been volunteering in local hunger-relief efforts, are now partnering with Rise Against Hunger, an international nonprofit group dedicated to ending global hunger “by nourishing lives, empowering communities, and responding to emergencies.”

Rise Against Hunger relies on volunteer partners like Holy Spirit to purchase food staples and efficiently package them to be shipped to hunger-crisis points around the world.

Holy Spirit members rallied on Feb. 1 in the parish hall to assemble boxes of nutritious, rice-based meals designed to feed one child for a year. They filled pallet after pallet that Rise Against Hunger picked up and shipped to a country where people are in need.

Each sealed meal bag contains enriched rice, soy protein, dehydrated vegetables, and a specialized micronutrient packet containing 20 essential vitamins and minerals. In each meal bag, the enriched rice provides carbohydrates and energy, the soy protein is a crucial source of protein for growth, the dehydrated vegetables add flavor and essential nutrients, and the micronutrient packet is a blend of nearly two dozen vitamins and minerals to combat deficiencies such as iron, iodine, and vitamin A.

The meals are specifically designed to be easily transported, stored, and prepared in areas with limited resources. They often are used in school feeding programs to encourage education while providing necessary nutrition.

Monsignor Al Humbrecht, pastor of Holy Spirit, described how parishioners turned the Rise Against Hunger ministry idea into reality.

“It was suggested by a member of our social action committee, who had read about it and saw it and asked me if we could do that here. I looked at him and said, ‘Yes, we can!’ I said that as I pointed to Mike (Grosso) for him to direct it. He has taken the ball and run with it,” Monsignor Humbrecht said.

“It is so important for us, especially as Catholics, to always have a global vision. We are not parochial in our service to others. We might be parochial in getting our support for one another to then reach out to those beyond us,” he added.

Holy Spirit parishioners had to raise $4,400 to pay for the food that was sent to the church in industrial-sized bags. They then placed the ingredients into individual meal packets, which were placed in boxes to be shipped overseas.

“We needed 60 volunteers spread out over different shifts to assemble the meal packets and put them into boxes. We raised the money and filled the 60 volunteer slots two weeks before the deadline. Mike said he had people coming to him saying, ‘I want to be on the waitlist. If somebody can’t come, I want to come,’” the monsignor continued.

Monsignor Humbrecht isn’t surprised that his parish would step up to take on a new ministry. It already supports financially and with volunteers more than 30 parish ministries.

Based on the response from parishioners, Monsignor Humbrecht expects Holy Spirit to again participate in Rise Against Hunger next year. And it might become a regular Holy Spirit endeavor.

“With it under our belt already, I realize that we can do this. It might end up that way (becoming an annual event),” he said.

Monsignor Humbrecht is encouraged that a modest parish like his can make a significant impact on hunger on another continent.

“This is international. To think that in just this amount of time (an afternoon following Sunday Mass), 10,000 meals are packaged and ready for shipping. What that can do in an area that has real food insufficiency, such as countries that have been experiencing famine, to get those 10,000 meals. What a difference that makes in the lives of those people,” he said.

And while some observers may ask about domestic hunger and feeding those in need in communities closer to the parish, Holy Spirit has an answer for that.

The Hamilton County parish provides food-pantry support for the Soddy-Daisy community, and it also works with the Soddy-Daisy food bank to provide nourishing foodstuff to local residents in need.

“We send a monthly donation to them, and that food bank runs out of the Methodist church. We also send volunteers who help staff it. We work closely with First Baptist in Soddy-Daisy on the food boxes that we distribute locally. If they run out, they’ll call us. If we run out, we’ll call them. We work together,” Monsignor Humbrecht said.

“It is great because of the witness it gives the Christian community. We’re stronger when we work together,” he added, noting that the ministry is an ecumenical outreach, with neighbor helping neighbor.

Monsignor Humbrecht pointed out that the food-pantry ministry is at least a decade old and in some months hands out more than 60 boxes of food locally. The 10,000 Rise Against Hunger meals the Holy Spirit parishioners put together are in addition to that.

“There is a need,” he said.

Mr. Grosso is the Holy Spirit parishioner who initiated the Rise Against Hunger ministry. The outreach is something he was familiar with when he attended a Catholic church in Indialantic, Fla., where he formerly lived.

Mr. Grosso has continued to stay in touch with friends at that church who tell him the Rise Against Hunger ministry continues with strong participation.

“I decided to bring it here to this parish, Holy Spirit. I proposed it to the parish council and the parish council approved it. That’s when we reached out to Rise Against Hunger and brought the event here,” Mr. Grosso said.

“I’ve had the privilege of participating in meal-packing events with Rise Against Hunger, a fast-paced and joyful activity that brings our parish families together. These meals support children in vulnerable communities around the world—children whose access to food, education, and basic resources is limited,” he continued.

One aspect of Rise Against Hunger that appeals to so many volunteer partners, according to Mr. Grosso, is that the organization works to establish sustainable farming practices and clean-water sources for residents in stricken third-world areas.

“By providing nutritious meals, supporting sustainable farming, and helping establish clean-water sources, we hope to empower these communities with the tools every person deserves. It all begins with something simple: a meal prepared at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.,” he said. “As a parish family, we come together to serve, to have fun, and to shine the light of Jesus on those in need—our brothers and sisters we may never meet but are called to love. Under the guidance of Monsignor Al Humbrecht, whose preaching inspires peace, harmony, and generosity, we continue this mission with gratitude and hope.”

Mr. Grosso explained that once the meals were boxed and labeled at Holy Spirit, Rise Against Hunger picked up the pallets and readied them for shipment overseas. The organization would then notify Holy Spirit where their volunteer work was destined.

The preparation process in Holy Spirit’s family life center resembled a manufacturing assembly line. Each volunteer had a post, and along the line large bags of rice, soy flour, freeze-dried vegetables, and nutrients were poured into containers for ladling into the individual meal packets. The packets were then boxed and placed on pallets.

Two shifts of more than 60 volunteers assembled the 10,000 meals in just a couple of hours.

“The parishioners here always rise to the occasion,” Mr. Grosso said. “And our St. Vincent de Paul food pantry at Holy Spirit distributes food every fourth Tuesday of the month, and we give out 55 boxes of food on average a month. We also distribute fully cooked meals for Thanksgiving.”

Taeree Son, an Atlanta-based event facilitator for Rise Against Hunger, oversaw the program at Holy Spirit and directed the volunteers in their efforts. He has seen firsthand the impact partners like Holy Spirit have on communities in need around the globe.

“In our role, we believe it starts with a meal. Hunger may not be something we commonly deal with domestically; nonetheless it is a prevalent problem where a lot of families have to choose between feeding the family and work. If we can provide a meal, mostly to schools, this is a great strategy to attract students so that it will give families a better future and a better hope for the community. That is what we believe,” Mr. Son said. “It does change lives.”

Rise Against Hunger, which was formed in 1998 and is based in Raleigh, N.C., works mostly with churches to create the thousands of meal packets it distributes annually. It also works closely with private schools.

Monsignor Humbrecht shared that a separate ministry undertaken by Holy Spirit volunteers to tutor students at North Hamilton Elementary School in Sale Creek has given rise to a “snack sacks” program in which the parish provides food to schoolchildren within the parish boundary who might otherwise go hungry over a weekend.

Holy Spirit receives a matching grant from the Diocese of Knoxville Pope Francis Charitable Trust Fund, which supports charitable outreach at the parish level. The fund provides matching grants to parishes to foster local, parish-based charitable works.

Deacon Jim Bello, who serves at Holy Spirit, said the parish’s ministries to feed the hungry are typical of the outreach performed by its members.

“This is very common in this parish. Monsignor Al is very pastoral. We preach about love. We talk about love, and we live it here, so it doesn’t surprise me to see so many of our parishioners showing up to do the thing that they do best. And that is to take care of those who might need something from us,” Deacon Bello said.