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One on One 
by Stacey Paretti Rase
Each year, Clerk of Court Malise Prieto and her office staff offer volunteer hours and/or monetary donations in support of a local charity. Earlier this spring, the group teamed up with students from St. Scholastica Academy to collect donations for the Food Bank in Covington. Here, Malise explains why the drive was so important to her workforce and to the community at large.
What led your team to initiate this year’s drive?
The girls from SSA actually communicated the Food Bank’s immense need. Becky Galatas, my Elections Coordinator and SSA alumna, decided to head up the project. We then went there to see if it was really as bad as we’d heard and found that the bank was desperately low on supplies. Sam Catalanotto, the Food Bank’s pantry manager, told me that food, paper products, toiletries and detergent were needed “the day before yesterday.” There are times when the Food Bank’s resources are stretched too thin and people have to be turned away.
How is it that the supply at the bank has run so low?
Food Bank office manager Jackie Catalanotto said that, prior to Katrina, the Food Bank helped 20 to 40 families from our area per day. After the storm, and to this very day, they are assisting 60 to 110 families per day! People from Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes—and even from Mississippi—come once or (if eligible) twice a month for assistance. Receiving no funds from any federal, state or local government, the center depends entirely on donations from individuals, businesses and organizations to help. I had no idea that it takes roughly $30,000 a month to keep the food distribution center, All Saints Dental Clinic and All Saints Thrift Store [all services offered through the organization] going.
How did the effort affect you personally?
So many people in St. Tammany have it all. I had no idea that there are moms out there living in cars with their kids and begging for food from the deli leftovers of grocery stores before it goes in the dumpster. It’s astounding. I was also amazed at the amount of time and energy the volunteers put in at the Food Bank. People just don’t have a clue what good works are going on over there! For me, it was very inspiring.
The effort raised over $3,000 in cash and an estimated $2,000 in non-perishable items in just a couple of weeks.
It would be wonderful if other organizations would follow SSA and the clerk’s office’s lead. And then another organization and another… It’s the only way the Food Bank is going to keep up.
