Faith community uses food drive to help Petey’s Pantry

By: Andrew Nowel, Sports Layout Editor

Christ the King Chapel is a faith community that includes faculty, staff and students, but also incorporates people from all over WNY. From Canisius alumni to parishioners throughout the Greater Niagara Region, the community works closely with organizations on campus such as Petey’s Pantry, a place where students can find snacks for their dorms or apartments. As stock was running low, the community led by university chaplain Fr. Fred Betti, helped put together a food drive to aid the students of Canisius.

The first objective for Fr. Betti was figuring out how much and what was needed in Petey’s Pantry. “We worked directly with the students and staff at Petey’s Pantry to figure out what items they needed,” said Fr. Betti. The way to pass around the message was through announcements at Mass as well as Fr. Betti’s social media presence, mainly his Instagram account. By the next Sunday, during Griff Weekend, there were already many donations from parishioners eager to help out students in need. “Our church families know our students,” said Fr. Betti. “They pray together, sing together and interact with each other on a weekly or even daily basis. It was great to see the overwhelming response from our community.”

Having people from all over gives Canisius a wide variety of needs. Students who aren’t able to go home during breaks utilize Petey’s Pantry as well as Christ the King to figure out meals when school is not in session. Fr. Betti and parishioners chip in to hold Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter meals to help these students, and Petey’s Pantry gives students a way to have this throughout the academic year. “It’s an indication of who we are at Canisius,” said Fr. Betti. “This is one of the many ways we support our students.” 

The idea behind the food drive came about after Fr. Betti saw the needs of the students he works with closely. Without cars or easy ways of transportation, many students are unable to go grocery shopping, which is where Petey’s Pantry provides basic necessities that help students in so many ways. “I am blessed to work closely with the students, so I saw the needs that they had when it came to food,” said Fr. Betti. The response from the faith community of Christ the King was an added bonus to the already successful nature of Petey’s Pantry in previous years.

Going forward, Fr. Betti hopes to continue the partnership with Petey’s Pantry as the faith community will look to focus on specific needs that will aid all students. Located in the basement of the student center in room WC006, Petey’s Pantry continues to thrive in the mission of Canisius University: fostering excellence, service and leadership for years to come.