St. Patrick’s has a long history of participating in feeding ministries within the Dublin and greater Columbus
communities. There are opportunities to cook, serve, purchase and donate food.

Dublin Food Pantry
St. Patrick’s, through donations of food, dollars, and by volunteering, supports the mission of the Dublin Food Pantry:
“…to eliminate food insecurity in our community by increasing access to food and necessities, connecting with
community resources, and engaging the community through education and participation.” In 2021, the congregation
donated over 2,600 pounds of food to the DFP. More than a ton even during a pandemic! Several church members volunteer their time every week of the year at the Pantry, and each October St. Patrick’s provides a crew of about eight
additional volunteers each week on Tuesday mornings.

This robust outreach program by St. Patrick’s connects us to the community in a special way, as Jesus directed: “Feed
the hungry…..”

Local School Outreach
This ministry supported students at three elementary schools and a middle school, each of which has
a substantial population of pupils from low-income families.

During the school year, we collected single-serve Mac N Cheese, Fruit, or breakfast items
go home in weekend packs with children from Trevitt and Beatty Park. We have also provide single-serve
breakfast items for Davis Middle School. During the summer, food donations go to students at Daniel
Wright who participate in the summer lunch program.

Friends of the Homeless
The Friends of the Homeless is an alive and dynamic ministry. On the third Thursday of every month,
we cook and serve a hot meal to approximately 100 homeless men at the Friends of the Homeless
shelter in downtown Columbus. We are blessed with caring, wonderful people of this parish who bring
homemade desserts and fruit to supplement the meal. Love can be expressed by food, and this
ministry brings the love of God to these men.

CATCH (Changing Actions To Change Habits) Court Ministry
St. Patrick’s supports local victims of sex trafficking by providing lunch on the third Thursday of each
month for up to 40 women at the Franklin County Courthouse Special probation program. After lunch, we stay to witness the reports of women working to re-enter, or enter for the first time, a life of freedom, independence, and safety. To serve and observe young women enter the courtroom in handcuffs and jail garb and plead into CATCH Court, to hear the loving words of acceptance and encouragement by the court staff and sister probationers, and to celebrate with them their hard won successes is to partake in Becoming Beloved Community.

CATCH Court volunteers also answer individual requests from court-affiliated programs sponsored by
Freedom A la Cart, such as social and GED mentoring and providing transportation and personal
supplies.

Dinner with Friends
The mission of this ministry is to create a strong fellowship environment through numerous social
dinner events. These events have different themes based on the time of the year or purpose of the
event. The Dinner with Friends Ministry raises money to assist with our pledge to Habitat for
Humanity. In some cases, the money goes to support other needs of the church.
Typical Events:
• Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper
• Lenten Fish Fry (attendance for 2019 was approximately 900+)
• Parish Wide Celebrations and other various events
• Occasional assistance with FOH feedings
St. Patrick’s hosts three Lenten season fish fry dinners, netting over $5,000, which is donated to
Habitat for Humanity. We give great thanks to our food donors. Without them we would not be able to
cover the continuing increases in food costs. Each year, we ask our parishioners if they could help
with donating specific food items. For example, a donor might choose to help with the purchase of
two cases of battered fish or a case of fries.

To date, we have had over 30 fish fry events, serving thousands. We are thankful for such a great
volunteer base which includes so many of our church youth. We encourage parishioners to try
volunteering at one of our Dinner with Friends events. Many have said that the clean-up at the end is
actually fun because there is a lot of fellowship and laughing. That is why many choose this ministry.
If you have never volunteered for a ministry, and don’t have a lot of time, try volunteering for just one
fish fry and discover how the Body of Christ fills St. Patrick’s!

For more information on these feeding ministries an how to participate please contact the church office at church@pats-dublin.org.