FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2020

ARLINGTON, Va. - Keany Produce, a family-owned Maryland based company with distribution points in Richmond, Va. and Landover, Md., partnered with Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Alexandria and Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington's St. Lucy Food project to raise almost $100,000 for local food pantries. The Keany family matched an almost $50,000 contribution from Good Shepherd parishioners and neighbors, bringing the total donation to just under $100,000.

Keany made its first produce drop off yesterday, totaling almost 8,000 pounds of food, at the St. Lucy Food Project Warehouse in Manassas. Please see a photo of the donation here.

“This effort demonstrates how the community is coming together in creative ways to meet a growing and pressing need for food during this pandemic. Long food lines demonstrate the real economic toll the COVID-19 health emergency is having on our neighbors,” said Art Bennett, president and CEO, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington. “Generous partnerships between businesses and parishes, such as Keany's with Good Shepherd, enable us to meet that need.”

With the onset of the pandemic, Keany Produce developed contact-free purchases for a $30 box of produce. They quickly added a “pay-it-forward” option to send a box to a participating charity. Good Shepherd Catholic Church nominated Catholic Charities St. Lucy Food Project as a charity, and the Keany family quickly decided to match every donation to the St. Lucy Project.

“It's through social media that this thing happened, and the success is really astounding! It's astounding,” said Ted Keany, Vice President of Sales and a Good Shepherd parishioner. “We're honored to be part of this effort and to be able to serve people in need during this time.”

Since the onset of the coronavirus, Catholic Charities' pantries, parish and partner pantries have experienced dramatic increases in the amount of food needed as the economic toll on families rises. Catholic Charities is also running No Contact Friday Food Drop Offs which have brought in more than 11, 000 pounds of food so far and continue this Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church at 12805 Valleywood Dr., Lake Ridge, VA 22192. The list of existing sites can be found at https://www.ccda.net/give-help/donate-and-distribute-food/.

Donations can also be made to the St. Lucy Food Project warehouse, 8426-28 Kao Circle in Manassas, at a “no contact” secure bin 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To donate online, please visit https://secure.ccda.net/Give/Give/Donate/Giving.aspx. To learn more about ways to donate food throughout the Diocese, visit https://www.ccda.net/give-help/donate-and-distribute-food/. For more information, contact Patricia Kuntz, Outreach Specialist, St. Lucy Food Project, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington at Patricia.Kuntz@ccda.net.  

Interested media, contact Amber Roseboom, Director of Media Relations, Catholic Diocese of Arlington, at 571-215-8731 or Amber.Roseboom@arlingtondiocese.org.

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Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington serves the poor and vulnerable who live within the 21 counties and seven cities of the Diocese of Arlington, which is led by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. Catholic Charities provides food for the hungry, a free medical clinic for adults including prenatal care, adoption services, transformational housing for the homeless, mental health counseling, emergency financial assistance, prison ministry, workforce development, and immigration and refugee services. Catholic Charities serves all, regardless of faith.www.ccda.net.