Catholic Parish Outreach
“…for I was hungry and you gave me food…
‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’” Mat 25:35-40
About Catholic Parish Outreach of Raleigh
Catholic Parish Outreach (CPO) is one of the largest food pantries in the Triangle and is a program of Catholic Charities, which is a 501c3 non-profit organization. CPO is a program that provides emergency assistance in the form of food. CPO provides one week’s worth of groceries to families and individuals in need, every 30 days! In addition, CPO administers The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), a federal program that helps supplement the diets of low-income people who qualify by providing them with emergency food assistance at no cost.
CPO also provides clothing—maternity and newborn up to pre-school age children (4 years old– especially sizes 2T-6T)–and baby items (from diapers and wipes to strollers and portable cribs). Note that availability varies with donations on hand. New and freshly laundered gently used clothing donation items can be placed in the CPO box in the ministry closet, next to the women’s restroom.
CPO serves any resident of Wake, Johnston, or Franklin County. No referral or IDs are required and clients are served regardless of age, sex, race, creed, or ethnic background. Clients hear about CPO from human service agencies, churches, medical providers, senior living, and school counselors who see firsthand those who struggle in our community.
Know Someone Needing Assistance?
If you or anyone you know is in need of these CPO services, information can be found at:
https://www.catholiccharitiesraleigh.org/cpo/ OR 919-873-0245.
Please Donate...The Need is Great!
St. Luke’s Generously Supports CPO all year-round with:
• TWO Feed-A-Family Food Drives per year
• SEVEN Month-Long Food Target Drives per year
• TWO Diaper and Wipes Drives per year
• ONE Christmas Giving Tree Drive
• Continuous collections of new/lightly used newborn – pre-school aged children’s clothing and diapers
• Donations of plastic and paper grocery bags to pack client groceries
May Month Long Food Target
Bags of Dried Beans
1-2 pound bags are preferred
A donation box is in the lower gathering space
CPO is always in need of new and lightly used BABY CLOTHES—sizes 2T-6T & diapers. New and freshly laundered items can be placed in the CPO box in the ministry closet, next to the women’s restroom.
RECYCLE! Save your plastic and paper grocery bags for CPO
CPO recycles THOUSANDS of grocery bags each week and always has a need for your plastic and paper grocery bags. These items can be placed in the CPO box in the ministry closet, next to the women’s restroom.
VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME... AND HAVE A GOOD TIME!
A committed group of members from St. Luke’s volunteer at CPO on various days of the week. They participate in a variety of jobs while volunteering such as interviewing clients, packing bags of food, assembling clients’ grocery orders, unloading trucks, handing out food to clients, and helping with distribution of children’s clothing. If you can’t be available every week, consider volunteering one day per month or to be an occasional substitute!
If you have questions about volunteering experiences by St Luke parishioners at CPO, please contact Ken Low or Dennis Jacobs (contacts listed below).
To volunteer your time at CPO, email CpoVolCoordinator@ccharities.org. For more information about CPO volunteering opportunities, you can access their website at ccharitiesdor.org.