An Eden Prairie church has put a tangible reminder of food-shelf needs in the hands of its members, and the results are impressive.

After distributing burgundy-colored, canvas-like tote bags to church-goers the weekend of Jan. 10 and 11, Pax Christi Catholic Community collected 4,987 pounds of food for PROP that month, more than five times the 965 pounds collected in January of last year.

The bags have a message printed on the side: “A solution to hunger? Pax Christi Catholic Community has it in the bag!” They are reusable and are meant to be taken to the grocery store, filled with foodstuffs, and dropped off at the church for transport to PROP’s food shelf.

Everyone who drops off a bag of food at the church is invited to take an empty tote bag back home and repeat the process, so that the Pax Christi food drive runs continuously. The Eden Prairie church has more than 11,000 active members.

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