After a three-year hiatus due to pandemic restrictions, members of a senior group at St. Anne Parish in Kenosha have reignited their annual spring peanut butter and jelly drive for needy children.
“Even a 4-year-old can make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” said Lucille Baker, a member of the STARS (St. Anne Remarkable Seniors) group. “There are so many hungry kids in our community.”
In 2018, the group distributed 75 jars of peanut butter and 60 jars of jelly; in 2019, they collected 125 of each.
“This year, some parishioners inquired whether we would start the program again and the STARS offered to take on the project,” Baker said.
Normally, children from families with low incomes in Kenosha benefit from the school lunch program, but when the program ends at the close of the school year in June, many of them won’t receive adequate food in their homes.
“Although we have some community programs — such as Urban Outreach that feeds about 100 in their program, and food stamps — there are still many children who don’t have enough food in their homes,” said Baker. “St. Anne’s researched the need in Kenosha, and because of the current high cost of food, gas, electricity and everything else, we identified that 640 children are needy in the city.”
The number of needy children surpassed the estimates of what St. Anne parishioners could handle, so the Knights of Columbus District Council offered to help with the donations and distributions. In addition to St. Anne Parish, several other parishes in Kenosha are also collecting peanut butter and jelly to help feed children this summer.
St. Anne Parish will collect the peanut butter and jelly through Sunday, May 28. They welcome peanut butter and jelly, or cash or checks to purchase supplies.
How to help
Address checks to Knights of Columbus and add peanut butter and jelly in the memo line. Donations can be mailed to Knights of Columbus c/o St. Anne Parish, 9091 Prairie Ridge Blvd., Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158. Bring donations of peanut butter and jelly to St. Anne before the 5:15 p.m. Saturday Mass or the 9:15 and 11:30 a.m. Sunday Masses. Additionally, donations are accepted at the parish 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays in the donation box in the parish lobby. Ring the bell to access the donation box.
