Organizers of a week-long food drive that began Monday for the Diocese of Tuscon didn't know what to expect when it was scheduled to offer assistance during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"To be honest we have not done a food drive of this nature previously and so we have no idea what to expect," Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona CEO Marguerite "Peg" Harmon told Arizona Catholic Tribune on Monday, May 11. "Today was day one and it appears that many people came to help out but we have not completed an inventory."

Photos from the first day of the drive, the day for donations at St. Mark's Parish, were impressive showing bags, boxes and bins of food, cleaning supplies, paper products and other supplies.

Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona CEO Marguerite "Peg" Harmon | Photo courtesy of Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona

Drive organizers are hoping to collect enough food and other items to help 200 families per week in the coming weeks.

"We will know if we have achieved this goal once the collection is completed," Harmon.

The drive is scheduled at different locations through the Diocese through Saturday, May 16, according to the Diocese's website.

"The drive is something being done by the Diocese to help others more in need," Diocese Director of Communications Steff Koeneman said.

Catholic Community Services assisted an average of 80 families per week in 2019. But the dramatic increase in the number of jobless – more than 20 million nationwide in April alone – is reflected dramatically in the number of local families in need of assistance, Harmon said.

"With so many people with limited employment or no employment we have seen a significant increase," she said.

The drive helps those who give as well as those who receive, Harmon said.

"The drive is important for both those who will receive the food but also for those who donate," she said. "These days of social isolation make many of us feel as if we are helpless to make a difference. A gesture that helps to connect people with others, even though they cannot connect physically, helps reduce our own sense of isolation and feelings that there is nothing we can do."

Giving during a food drive ensures "that a child or a family will have a decent meal brings people together," Harmon said.

"The importance for those who receive the food is clear," Harmon said. "In our country one in seven children are hungry. This food will help our community make progress in reducing that hunger for a few of them."

Donations recommended by drive organizers include canned meat; fish, chicken (pop lid); canned soups/stews (pop lid); rice; sugar; flour; beans; breakfast cereals; cooking oils; pancake mix; pancake syrup; peanut butter; jelly; instant oatmeal; canned fruit and vegetables; shelf stable and powdered milk; macaroni and cheese; child-friendly snacks; individual fruit/pudding cups; individual crackers and dried fruit.

Donations of the non-perishable food items are scheduled to be accepted at these locations in Tucson between 7 and 11 a.m. each day:

Tuesday, May 12 – Santa Monica Parish, 212 W. Medina Road

Wednesday, May 13 – St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, 801 N. Grande Ave.

Thursday, May 14 – St Cyril of Alexandria, 4725 E. Pima St., Tucson; and at– Saint Pius X, 1800 N. Camino Pio Decimo

Friday, May 15 – St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, 8650 N. Shannon Road

Saturday, May 16 – Saints Peter and Paul, 1946 E. Lee St.

Monetary donations also may be dropped off at drive sides to benefit the Catholic Community Services COVID-19 Relief Fund or online at Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona's website.