Read Our Food Pantry Impact Report

March 2026

Dear friends and supporters,

We are very pleased to share the 2025 Impact Report for the St. Pius V Food Pantry.  It has been a year blessed by the generosity of many individuals, groups, and parishes. Last year, we alleviated the food insecurity for a record 10,148 households.

Increased Offerings & Donations

In spite of increasing grocery prices, we were able to provide a more robust selection of healthy choices than ever at a lower cost than in 2024. We were only able to do this because parishes stepped up with amazing food drives, we secured increased donations of “distressed” food through the St. Louis Area Food Bank, and because of the generosity of the St. Anthony Food Pantry. These donations required increased volunteer effort to pick up donations, unload, sort, store, and prepare them for distribution. We also began buying rice and beans in bulk to economize.

While we lean heavily on donated foods, the food pantry always needs to purchase staples and milk. With increased prices, these bills average at least $2,500 each week. Individual donations increased in 2026, becoming our largest source of funding. Our gratitude is boundless!

Thank You to Our Volunteers

Volunteers work 5 days each week to ensure the pantry is prepared to serve our neighbors on Tuesday afternoons and Saturday mornings. 

The team of 10 who responded to requests for rent, utility, or other assistance were rock stars. Almost 800 households were stabilized by preventing eviction or disconnection of their electric or gas service. 

Most importantly, the work of the food pantry is about creating connections and community. Our volunteers are a committed and caring team. We strive to create a welcoming space where everyone experiences respect and kindness. We can rarely solve the complex needs that are presented, but we can offer a willingness to listen, try to understand, and hear one another.

A Personal Note from Our Food Pantry Director

I personally grow through this work, witnessing the generosity of our volunteers and, in particular, when our neighbors share their struggles. Their reality grounds me in the Gospel challenge to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with the God who is present in each of us.

My heart is broken open by the suffering and uncertainty experienced because of a cancer diagnosis, the loss of a job, or the physical and mental health challenges that are a barrier to finding full-time work with livable wages.

I am saddened that our society does not provide safety nets for grandparents caring for grandchildren. I am saddened that disability, social security, and veteran benefits are so inadequate that “budgeting” is a continual choice of whether to pay rent or a utility.

I am saddened that immigrant and refugee families live in fear, caught up in a non-system that ignores human rights and lacks clear paths to citizenship.

And yet, people find the courage to face each day, sometimes with anger and resentment, but also with hope and eagerness to find joy.

We are challenged to find ways to shape our society with values of solidarity. Large-scale change is needed. It is our hope that through the work of the pantry in our neighborhood, we are inspired not only to generosity in meeting immediate needs, but also to respond to the larger work of creating social structures that are in tune with the needs of those who are most vulnerable.

With gratitude,

Ruth Ehresman

St. Pius V St. Vincent de Paul Conference President