About 300 meals and gifts were distributed during the annual Christmas dinner for those experiencing homelessness and hunger that was hosted on Dec. 21 by Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. 

A hot meal of turkey and gravy, sweet potatoes, collard greens, stuffing, cornbread and a brownie was served. The dinner – held under the portico of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C., across the street from Catholic Charities’ headquarters – was an outdoor sit-down dinner, providing guests, staff and volunteers the opportunity to “build a stronger community as those in attendance can sit, relax and talk among each other,” says Msgr. John J. Enzler, the president of Catholic Charities. 

The Christmas meal is an annual tradition and part of Catholic Charities’ weekly St. Maria’s Meals program. The program provides warm and nutritious meals to individuals and families experiencing homelessness and food insecurity in Washington, D.C., and Montgomery and Prince George counties. In the last fiscal year, the program served 62,355 meals at three weekly distributions. For some people, St. Maria’s Meals is the reason they have dinner.

In the last fiscal year, Catholic Charities DC served 2.9 million meals to residents of D.C. and five Maryland counties. More information about Catholic Charities’ efforts to combat food insecurity and homelessness in the Washington, D.C., metro area can be found online at http://catholiccharitiesdc.org/annual-report-2022.

Catholic Charities DC is the largest independent social services agency in the metropolitan D.C. area. As the charitable arm of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, Catholic Charities DC invests in communities by providing critical services to hundreds of thousands of people in need throughout the District of Columbia and Montgomery, Prince George’s, Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties in Maryland. The organization works to give help that empowers and hope that lasts to those it serves regardless of background, belief or circumstance. For more information, visit www.catholiccharitiesdc.org and follow Catholic Charities on social media @CCADW.