Community Cares: Rosarian Academy
8,000+ Pounds of Peppers Picked to Help Feed the Local Hungry and Prevent Food Waste
The National Junior Honor Society at Rosarian Academy led the school community in a large-scale gleaning effort to provide food for those less fortunate in Palm Beach County on February 2. More than 30 pre-school through 8th grade students, family members, and administrators spent their Saturday morning in Delray Beach picking 8,173 pounds of bell peppers that were delivered to the Palm Beach County Food Bank and then distributed to local agencies and shelters that feed the “food insecure” in our community. 25pounds of peppers provide a family of four all the vegetable servings they need for a week.
For the last six years, Rosarian Academy has partnered with CROS Ministries, the event organizer, in participating in two gleaning events per year. CROS Ministries picked 527,366 pounds of food in Palm Beach County in 2018 alone; yet, the Palm Beach County Food Bank has calculated that 32 million pounds of food is needed to ensure that no one in our community goes hungry. Gleaning is so important because an estimated 54 million pounds of produce on farms are wasted every year. CROS Ministries works with local farmers to allow volunteers to glean, or pick, the crops that are left after the harvest which are perfectly edible but do not meet supermarket standards.
1,308 people will be fed for an entire week thanks to the grower, Bedner Farms, and all the volunteers who harvested the bell peppers this past Saturday. Through this meaningful community service project, the Rosarian Academy participants experienced the power of making a positive difference in the lives of the needy in our community.
This service project was a strong end to Catholic Schools Week, January 27 – February 2, 2019. Catholic Schools Week is celebrated annually on a national level, the last week in January. Catholic schools observe the week with Masses, open houses, service projects and gatherings. Through these events, schools focus on the values of Catholic education.
Rosarian Academy, founded in 1925, educates students from early childhood through eighth grade and offers an exceptionally strong academic program enriched by athletics, visual and performing arts, and community service opportunities. The independent, Catholic school is located on Flagler Drive in downtown West Palm Beach and is sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters. Bus service is available throughout Palm Beach County. For more information, visit www.rosarian.org or call 561.345.3106.