8th Annual Friday Knights Hunger Bowl to Raise money for the St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry
Submitted by Mark Hackert and John Sandwell
AUGUST 22, 2024
Eight years ago, John Sandwell, a member of Auxillio Knights of Columbus Council 16541(St. Phillip/Corpus Christi parishes) had an idea after reading an article about two Catholic High School Football teams in Florida raising money to feed the hunger at their annual Football Game in the Knights of Columbus magazine –COLUMBIA. John wondered, why can’t the area Knights do something like this here in Evansville with the game between the two Catholic High Schools Mater Dei and Reitz Memorial? He reached out to Brother Knight Mark Hackert of the St. Benedict Cathedral Knights of Columbus 7544 and supporter of Reitz Memorial High School.
LINKS TO PICTURES OF STUDENTS WHO HELP RAISE MONEY FOR ST VINCENT FOOD BANK
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Sister Donna Marie Herr, St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry, the manager of St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry(SVDP), a longtime teacher at Mater Dei and known to generations of Mater Dei Wildcats. After talking with and the approval of the two high schools– THE FRIDAY KNIGHTS HUNGER BOWL was born. John and Mark reached out to the ten K of C councils and over 1,000 Knights in the Evansville area to work on this project and to promote the Knights of Columbus mission toward this worthy goal.
All the area Catholic Grade and High Schools, and parishes are involved in their own way to raise funds for St. Vincent De Paul Food Pantry. From the $3,500 raised the first year to nearly $30,000 raised last year, John and Mark are amazed but not surprised by the support from the Catholic community. A mantra they have is: People can’t DO If they Don’t Know.
The 8th Annual Friday KNIGHTS Hunger Bowl is scheduled for Friday, September 13th at the Reitz Bowl at Reitz High School. Game time is 6:30 pm. This project raises money for the St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry. The Hunger Bowl Game will feature the Reitz Memorial Tigers and Mater Dei Wildcats. Donna Marie Herr, OSB, SVDP Food Pantry Manager, appreciates all the monies from the supporters of Memorial and Mater Dei. Over the first seven years over $90,000 has been raised to help St. Vincent dePaul Food Pantry. Our goal this year is to raise $30,000.
The gathering of the fans for the two Evansville Catholic High School football teams is probably the largest gathering of Catholics in the diocese each year. Donations at the game last year exceeded $5,000 toward the goal. Each year the 4th Degree Color Guard of AJ Sprigler Assembly 253 presents the Flags prior to the game and Evansville Diocese Bishop Siegel provides invocation for the game
As successful as the Hunger Bowls have been, the needs continue to grow and more help is needed. Some sobering facts from last Fiscal year at SVDP Food Pantry:
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- Distributed an estimated 94,032 boxes of food weighing 666,108 pounds.
- Not unusual for the SVDP Food Pantry to serve over 100 families per day.
- Spent $154,00 on food purchases for distribution, up from $90,000 the previous year
- an increase in the number of households seeking assistance – many were first-time visitors.
Each year the student bodies of Memorial and Mater Dei, the Catholic grade schools, the area K of C Councils, attendees of the game itself and community supporters are involved in the fundraising. Over the last few years, foundations, trusts and businesses have supported this worthy cause. Each year we have worked to involve more people and groups to increase the amount of support we can offer the St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry. Your support in promoting this event with the goal of promoting the gift of giving to those in need. Donations can be made directly to St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry online at: https://www.fridayknightshungerbowl.org.
