Following in Padre Pio’s footsteps, the Saint Pio Foundation launches the initiative “Christmas Challenge”, a project that each year provides more than 10,000 free boxes of food to needy and struggling families in the metropolitan area of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Denver, Cleveland, Boston, and New Orleans, enabling recipients to make their own Christmas meal.
Each box of food provides important physical and spiritual nourishment for an entire family. The contents of each box will provide all the necessary ingredients and food products to prepare “pasta with tomato sauce,” the most important Italian dish in the world. There is another important dimension of this initiative. Each box will include a card with one of Padre Pio’s personal prayers. We intend to feed not only the body but also the soul.
So, what's in the box? one pound package of pasta; 28-oz. jar of tomato sauce; 3 oz. can of grated parmesan cheese; 12 ml. of extra virgin olive oil; 50 gm. package of salt; 3.5 oz. mini panettone; a Padre Pio prayer card.
Holidays are expensive for all people, and while there are several charities that provide such assistance to low-to-moderate income households, Christmas Challenge Initiative 2022 nourished the whole person by providing good quality food products in accordance with the saint’s Italian heritage and culture. Typical American families spend an average of $152 on Christmas dinner, easily making this meal the most expensive of all holiday meals.
There are several organizations that make commercially prepared food, intended for long-term storage, available to the poor, but to honor Saint Pio’s legacy, the Saint Pio Foundation will select the highest quality food products.
As you are preparing to celebrate your Christmas this year, think of those who might be not able to do so in a proper way. Today you too can make a difference, by pledging your support. A $10 pledge will enable a family of four to have a meal on Christmas Day.
Make a difference this year. Please help one or more needy families this Christmas by clicking the link below to pledge your support.
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