Groups reach out to needy during holiday

Churches and charities across the state are reaching out to help the needy this week, including one eastern Iowa church that’s making a big effort. St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Davenport is distributing food baskets to the first thousand local people who request them and based on referrals from 17 agencies. Monsignor Robert Schmidt explains what goes into them.The baskets are filled with things like ham, milk, bread, fruit, canned goods and potatoes. Monsignor Schmidt says “It’s a very important part of our mission as a church to give food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty.” He says they also give out a thousand baskets at Thanksgiving and Easter every year. The food baskets cost the church about 90-thousand dollars a year, something Monsignor Schmidt says is paid for from the collection plates. It takes about a hundred volunteers in cars and vans to deliver the baskets.