Seventh-graders at All Saints Catholic School in Davenport make meals for the homeless last month.
By Anne Marie Amacher
The Catholic Messenger
DAVENPORT — Since November, middle school students at All Saints Catholic School have rotated duties to make sandwiches for people in need. Now the school has added another component to helping others — serving meals at Café on Vine.
Principal Mindy Altman said Gary Simatovich of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bettendorf presented the idea at a committee meeting at All Saints in which he serves. “He provides the sandwich ingredients every week and we put together the lunches.” Originally, the project was going to be for six Wednesdays. Since then, Simatovich decided to extend it until the end of the school year.
On Jan. 15, students set up two long tables and lined each side in the school’s vestibule to prepare and package the sandwiches. School Secretary Lyndsay Maloney passed out the supplies. Bishop Dennis Walsh, who was visiting the school, thanked the students for their service.
Excitement grew when Simatovich arrived with the food along with girlfriend Megan Costello and friend Tyler Waters. In assembly line fashion, the students built sandwiches with bread, meat (turkey or ham) and cheese and placed them in a plastic bag, then into a paper bag, adding a bag of chips and a banana. The last student rolled the top of the bag closed and placed the lunch in a box. After the students completed 75 or so lunches, Simatovich thanked them for their help. They cleaned the area and returned to their classroom.
Simatovich said his grandfather taught him about helping others. As a youngster, Simatovich volunteered at a variety of places. “I wanted to continue what he taught me,” added Simatovich, who pays for the lunches out of his own pocket. “I have the money to do it. This is a way of helping others in need.” After packing up the boxes of lunch bags, Simatovich, Costello and Waters delivered them for distribution.
“The best part was working with my classmates as a team,” student Sophia Garcia said. She also appreciated the purpose behind making the lunches. “We are making a difference in the world.”
Student Ethan Frye added, “The best part was feeding someone in need. Helping the poor is what God wants for us. God has told us to take care of the poor so we make the food to feed the poor.”
Altman said Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year Pilgrims of Hope theme fits the project well. “This started with a conversation,” she said. Building on that hope, the older students started serving lunches at Café on Vine.
Paraprofessionals received training at Café on Vine. Five students, paraprofessionals and teachers go on a rotating basis to serve each week. “We are making a difference and being of service to others,” Altman said.
