Changing the World at the Sister Thea Bowman Center
Food Pantry
The Sister Thea Bowman Center Food Pantry treats all customers with dignity
As Christians we are called to serve our brothers and sisters in need. We must be careful however that as we continue to serve them we maintain a relationship of equality. The giver can often become a person of power while his receiver begins to feel beholden to him.
The staff at the Sister Thea Bowman Center Food Pantry in Bayview Hunters Point - one of San Francisco, California’s poorest neighborhoods - are acutely aware that those in need of help might not want to seek it because they feel ashamed. Their food pantry is one of the ministries of the Conventual Franciscan Church of St. Paul of the Shipwreck (with its pastor, Friar Paul Gawlowski). It is not a place where a person in need comes for a “handout”. Instead, the food pantry has been designed like a supermarket; shoppers can pick out whatever foodstuffs they need, have them placed in bags, and then take them home. The average shopper at the Sister Thea Bowman Center Food Pantry takes home about three bags of groceries, which help feed his or her family.
Clients at the food pantry center usually come from
the Bayview Hunters Point area of San Francisco
Providing food to the needy is not the only purpose of the Sister Thea Bowman Center Food Pantry. A long term goal that the staff at the center and the friars at the St. Paul of the Shipwreck Parish hold is to help decrease homelessness and consequently increase domestic as well as nutritional stability. The strategy that comes into play here is based on education. A bulletin board in the center holds valuable information on healthcare, legal aid, and other services that will assist individuals in moving towards a safer and more secure life. Staff too are always willing to assist persons who need information.
(Sources of related photos on webpage and homepage: stpauloftheshipwreck.org.) |
