By Ana Rodriguez Soto - The Archdiocese of Miami

Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO| FC

Volunteers Valerie Palay, left, and her daughter Alice, 14, help a grandmother and granddaughter who came seeking assistance at St. Mary Star of the Sea Outreach Mission in Stock Island. The mission's chapel was turned into an intake office to accommodate the growing number of people seeking food to tide them over until the next paycheck.

STOCK ISLAND, Key West — Just before 10 a.m. on a hot Wednesday in June, about a half dozen people are gathered outside St. Mary Star of the Sea Outreach Mission, waiting for it to open.

That’s not unusual, says Laura Bercean, the mission’s managing director.

Typically, the mission serves about 60 people a day. In May, it distributed just over 51,000 pounds of food to nearly 2,800 people – about half of them families with children.

“It’s the most amount of food that we distributed since the mission is open,” said Bercean.

“We’ve been growing by leaps and bounds,” said Roger Morse, the mission’s volunteer executive director.

That’s not really good news, in the sense that it means more people in Key West are experiencing economic hardship. But it is good in the sense that the mission is able to keep up with their needs.

Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO| FC

Exterior view of St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Center and Outreach Mission, located in Stock Island.

Three years ago, said Morse, “We didn’t know where the first penny was coming from. Now we have a lot more confidence.”

The outreach mission was founded four years ago by Father Francisco (Paco) Hernandez, then pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea Church in Key West. For years, the parish has operated a daily feeding program for the homeless, but the mission was aimed at helping the working poor.

“It’s so hard for working families to make ends meet in the Keys,” said Father John Baker, the church’s current pastor.

In fact, while the number of homeless who come seeking help at the mission has remained steady, the number of couples and families has risen steadily, now averaging about 400 a month.

“A lot of these people work low-wage jobs, and the rent down here is fairly high,” explained Morse.

Those who seek help at the mission can receive grocery bags full of food once every other week. The bags are pre-sorted for families, couples and the homeless. Bread is available daily, thanks to a local donor.

Most of the food is provided by Feeding South Florida (formerly known as Daily Bread Food Bank), which sends down at least one truckload – about 7,000 pounds of food — a week. Once or twice a month, a truckload of fresh vegetables might arrive.

The mission is also funded by the Apostles of Outreach, members of the parish who commit to making a $5,000 donation once a month. A group such as the Knights of Columbus usually takes one month, but “mostly it’s individuals,” said Morse.

Parishioners also contribute to monthly collections of food — on average, they fill 100 grocery bags, but the number rose to 500 during the busier winter months.

“During the holidays, everybody is so generous,” said Bercean.

The Klaus-Murphy Foundation, started in memory of deceased St. Mary Star of the Sea parishioners, also provides funding, and the mission’s treasurer, Tom Callahan, an attorney and winter resident of the Keys, keeps the grants and donations coming.

“Tom is like the angel from God,” said Morse.

The mission is now open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. five days a week. It is staffed by two paid employees and about 40 volunteers. Donations and volunteers come from other faith groups as well as the Key West community in general.

“This is a complete community effort,” said Morse. “The people that work here are not all from the church … It says a lot for the city of Key West.”

Aside from food, the mission is able to provide bus tickets for local transportation, and clothing and furniture when available. The Department of Children and Families has donated a computer so that those in need can apply for food stamps, cash assistance or Medicaid onsite.

Those without health insurance also may receive a limited number of prescription drugs through the mission.

“If we can’t help them, we try to refer them to someone else,” said Morse.

Father Baker pointed out that the 150-year-old parish, the oldest in the Archdiocese of Miami, has a history of stepping up to meet the needs of the community. The outreach mission on Stock Island is a continuation of that tradition.

It also shares a common trait with the people it serves, said Morse. “We once had been completely dependent on God. We’re still dependent on him and he’s been very generous.”

Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC

Posing with some of the food items that will be packaged into grocery bags for distribution to Key West's poor working families, from left: Laura Bercean, managing director, her assistant Raquel Rojas, and Roger Morse, volunteer executive director of the St. Mary Star of the Sea Outreach Mission.