On a recent Saturday afternoon, the smell of meatballs and sauce filled the air inside the church hall at Saint Matthew Parish in East Stroudsburg. Conversation and laughter were also heard as people from all walks of life shared a meal together – neighbors, families, and even those experiencing homelessness.

With a similar scene playing out on every Thursday and Saturday – the importance of the parish’s community meal is clear and more important than ever.

For some guests, the meals are a refuge from the streets. For others, they are a cure for loneliness or provide a way to stretch limited budgets as food prices rise.

“I’m 81 years old now, and I thought my life would be getting easier as I got older, but it’s not,” Irene Shields, a longtime East Stroudsburg resident who comes to the parish for meals each week, said. “Between the high rent and high food costs, there is no money left for anything.”

Living only a block and a half away from the church, Shields feels loved and cared for by its parishioners.

“It is a great relief to just get out of the house sometimes and then to be fed, I don’t have to cook, I don’t have to clean,” she said.

Saint Matthew Parish has offered a community meal for more than a decade – beginning with a single Saturday dinner – but since the COVID-19 pandemic, the program has expanded to three meals a week, serving more than 14,000 meals each year.

Guests can currently enjoy lunch and dinner on Saturday, as well as a Thursday evening meal.

St. Matthew’s Church East Stroudsburg, PA