July 8, 2026

Catholic Charities awards Rice Bowl grants to 12 organizations

REGIONAL
Staff report

Envelopes for Catholic Relief Services’ Rice Bowl program are displayed in this illustration file photo. CRS is the overseas relief and development agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S. (OSV News photo/Octavio Duran)

SPRINGFIELD – Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Springfield announced the Rice Bowl grants for 2026. The Rice Bowl initiative is spearheaded by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) each Lent. The donations collected through the Rice Bowl program support the work of CRS in more than 130 countries worldwide. Twenty-five percent of the donations stay in the local diocese to support programs that address food insecurity and poverty.

“Food insecurity is on the rise, especially with changes in SNAP. Our mobile food pantry has seen significant increases,” said Shaina Rodriguez, the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Springfield.  “This (the Rice Bowl program) amplifies the impact that is already being made in the community to combat food insecurity,” she said.

A Rice Bowl is a cardboard box used to collect Lenten alms. Parishes hand them out to families before Lent begins. In 2024 and 2025, local parishes raised $200,000 in the Diocese of Springfield, with $50,000 available for local grants.

The following organizations have been awarded Rice Bowl grants: Catholic Community Westfield, Westfield State University; Warm Meals/Warm Hearts, Granby; Ministry of St. Teresa of Calcutta, Williamstown; St. Joseph Parish Food Pantry, Pittsfield; St. Joseph Meals on Wheels Program, Pittsfield; St. John the Evangelist, Agawam; Sandwiches for the Homeless Ministry, Springfield; The Albert and Amelia Ferst Soup Kitchen Project, Westfield; Holy Cross Parish Take and Eat,  Springfield; Our Lady of Grace Take and Eat, Hatfield; St. Patrick Parish, South Hadley; and St. Agnes Food Pantry, Dalton.

Since 1975, the Rice Bowl Program has raised more than $350 million. The initiative began in the Diocese of Allentown, Penn. as an ecumenical response to world hunger, specifically the drought in the Sahel region of Africa. It was adopted as a national program under CRS in 1976. CRS is the official relief and development agency of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In addition to the organizations and ministries who received the grants, Catholic Charities operates a mobile food pantry called “Going Where the Need Is.”

“If there are ways that Catholic Charities and the wider community can step up and combat food insecurity on a larger scale, that is the goal. You don’t have to wait until Lent to donate. We have a mobile food pantry every other Wednesday. A call to action is to see how we can collaborate on a larger scale. We get requests every day that we can’t fulfill because we don’t have the manpower,” said Rodriguez who is always looking for volunteers.

For the mobile food pantry, Catholic Charities partners with Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish, Springfield; Our Lady of the Cross Parish, Holyoke; Amherst Community Connections; Valley Opportunity Council and Becket Federated Church. The mobile food pantry is supported by Blessed Trinity Parish, the Food Bank of Western Mass, Catholic Charities USA and Hope and Comfort.

For more information about the mobile food pantry, go to diospringfield.org and click on Catholic Charities.