Beef stew
Canned Chicken or Salmon
Canned Fruit
Canned Vegetables
Crackers
Chili
Canned Soup
Jelly
Hamburger Helper
Laundry detergent pods
Macaroni & Cheese
Pancake mix
Pasta – pot-sized is helpful
Pasta sauce
Peanut butter
Pork & Beans
Potatoes
Rice
Syrup
Toilet paper
Toiletries, trial or full size, such as soap, shampoo, conditioner, and deodorant
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Tuna

• quart size “Ziploc” style bags
• snack size “Ziploc” style bags
• Packing Tape
• Copy paper

The purpose of the Social Justice Committee is to use our knowledge of needs and resources and our commitment to the Gospel, to educate and inspire our church family to live out the personal sacrifice and compassionate service that allows us to care for God's children.

St. Ludmila Parish partners with the following organizations that offer financial assistance, food, clothing, or other basic needs. The last weekend of each month we have a second collection that helps support these organizations.

-  Catholic Worker House
-  Fresh Start
-  Matthew 25
-  Metro Catholic Outreach
-  Mission of Hope
-  St. Vincent de Paul

When you donate to Metro Catholic Outreach, you are helping people in the Cedar Rapids metro area who are in need. You can help MCO in three meaningful ways. You can give food items to our pantry, contribute non-food supplies, or provide a financial gift.

Each month, we provide an average of 15,015 pounds of food to 489 families. To keep our pantry stocked, we need contributions from the community. Here are some of the things you can contribute to our pantry:

Non-perishable food items – Each time you shop for your own groceries, consider purchasing items to donate to our food pantry. Reference the list of food items we consistently need in our pantry to provide weekly food baskets. You also can check our MCO Facebook page for the food pantry urgent needs list. We cannot accept food past its expiration date.

Fresh produce – We accept produce donations during regular office hours. Label the produce container before donating. Monday and Tuesday are the best days to make produce donations, so it can go out to our families’ in need in the food baskets on Wednesday and Thursday.

Cash donations to purchase food – If you give a cash donation, MCO is able to maximize the value of your donation by making bulk purchases from the regional food bank. For example, we can buy three times the macaroni and cheese for the price the grocery store sells it for, or Cheerios for 57 cent a box.

Make a monetary donation to support our food and financial programs. You can donate in person, by mail to our office, or online.

$20 –        Buys 91 cans of soup from the food bank
$35 –        Provides toilet paper for more than 20 families
$50 –        Buys 167 boxes of macaroni and cheese from the food bank
$100 –      Pays ½ of a utility assistance payment for a client
$250 –     Provides 6 food boxes for a family of 4
$500 –     Covers half the total cost of food purchases from the grocery store each                        month