Highland, Wisconsin – In a recent feature aired on EWTN News Nightly, White House correspondent Owen Jensen highlighted the vital work of the Catholic Charities Parish Mobile Food Pantry at Ss. Anthony and Philip Catholic Church in Highland, part of the St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina Pastorate.
The story, which aired at 5 p.m. on Monday, July 1, delved into the economic challenges and regional trends affecting the Midwest. During his visit to Wisconsin, Jensen interviewed Bishop Donald Hying, pantry volunteer Connie Gard, pastoral assistant Mark Hebgen, and parochial administrator Fr. Tafadzwa Kushamba, among others.
The Ss. Anthony and Philip pantry, which operates on the fourth Monday of every month beginning at 4 p.m., aided an impressive 185 families during its June pantry date alone. This level of service is not new to the pantry, which in 2023 helped 2,378 households and 7,410 individuals within those households. The first five months of 2024 have already seen 972 households and 3,544 people benefit from their services.
The EWTN crew also visited the Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin in Madison and interviewed their president and executive director, Michelle Orge, offering viewers a broader perspective on the issue of hunger in the region. As the community sponsor for 10 of Second Harvest’s mobile pantry locations, Catholic Charities not only coordinates the sites but also galvanizes volunteer support from local parishes, reinforcing their role as a cornerstone in the fight against hunger.
The full story, capturing the essence of community service and the impact of inflation on the less fortunate, can be revisited on EWTN’s YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/CCEWTN.
