SISTER BETSY'S LAST FOOD DRIVE

Sister Betsy Van Deusen, CSJ, coordinated her 244th drive-through food pantry for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany – and her last one before she becomes the organization’s new CEO in July - on May 31 at 230 Green Street in Albany.

Sister Betsy, who has served as Catholic Charities’ director of Community Partnerships for the last nine years, will succeed Vincent W. Colonno, who is retiring after 11 years as chief executive officer. Barb Willis, who previously served as Payroll and Human Resources manager at Catholic Charities, will oversee future food distributions as CC MOVE manager.

“The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the already persistent problem of food insecurity in our region. Under Sister Betsy’s leadership, CC MOVE has become a lifeline for people across our Diocese,” Colonno said. “Today, our neighbors continue to struggle to put food on the table and at Catholic Charities, we remain steadfast in our commitment to help. The efforts of our volunteers, partners and Sister Betsy have been tremendous and it is thanks to them that we're able to get folks the support they need.”

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sister Betsy spearheaded the expansion of CC MOVE throughout the region, including the exponential growth of food distributions throughout the 14-county Albany Diocese – all done in partnership with local organizations such as the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, Capital District Area Labor Federation, Centro Civico in Amsterdam, Metropolitan Baptist Church and Macedonia Baptist Church in Albany, CDPHP, Lansingburgh Boys and Girls Club, and Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church in Fort Plain. 

“CC MOVE affords us the privilege of meeting people where they’re at and walking with them to conquer challenges and find successes,” Sister Betsy said. “Through CC MOVE, we’re not only handing out food. We’re able to connect our neighbors to resources such as pantry services or case management.” 

Prior to the pandemic, the organizations coordinated one distribution a month, serving around 300 households. As COVID-19 disrupted daily life, more and more people came out for food. One event a month became four, then five, then eight. Before long Catholic Charities, with food provided by the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, was regularly distributing food to more than 600 families at each event.  All told, more than 4.4 million pounds of food have been distributed to more than 425,000 people throughout the Diocese. 

These distributions are a part of Catholic Charities' mobile outreach initiative, CC MOVE, and provide supplemental and emergency food in areas with limited access to services. CC MOVE’s outreach program also helps connect people with on-site case managers to talk about additional programs and services.