SCRANTON — University of Scranton senior Christina Kennedy smiled Sunday morning as she packaged vegetables destined for the tables of the less fortunate this Thanksgiving.
But what Kennedy was really looking forward to was giving out the food at local housing complexes later in the day.
Kennedy, who has participated in the packaging and giveaway for all four years of her college career, said the event marks her favorite day of the year.
University of Scranton students assist in packaging food for needy families at the Friends of the Poor site on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. Later in the day the food would be distributed to needy families. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
Fifty members of the University of Scranton Lacrosse team assisted with packaging Thanksgiving food items at the Friends of the Poor site on Nov. 23, 2025. Later in the day the food items were to be distributed to needy families. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
She looks back on previous years when a family would invite students into their home for a few minutes and the group got to chat with parents and children.
It was such moments that define the spirit of Thanksgiving, Kennedy said.
Kennedy was among nearly 100 University of Scranton students who bagged, loaded and delivered food donated by Wegmans and the Weinberg Food Bank to families.
Among the student volunteers were about 50 members of the school’s lacrosse team and staff from the university’s Center for Service and Social Justice.
The effort is part of a nearly weeklong effort by the Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center to assist the needy during Thanksgiving week.
Treating the strangers with compassion
Kicking off the week’s activities was an Interfaith Prayer Service at Temple Hesed on Friday.
During the service, Rabbi Daniel J. Swartz reminded over 100 attendees of the event that the Torah 36 times directs the faithful to treat strangers fairly and with compassion.
Speakers from other faiths shared thoughts, songs and poems during the two-hour service, held on the evening of the Sabbath celebration for those of the Jewish faith.
On Tuesday, a takeout-only Thanksgiving Community Dinner will be held at the Scranton Cultural Center. And, on Wednesday, a Family-to-Family Drive Through Food Basket Giveaway will be held at the cultural center.
Show of faith
Avainna Carilli, coordinator of domestic and international service programs, said University of Scranton students have volunteered for the Thanksgiving food giveaway for about 25 years.
The word just goes out that help is needed and students readily volunteer, she said.
As a Jesuit, Catholic institution, she said, the university experience goes beyond the classroom and into the community.
The event provides a chance for students to live out their faith and to enjoy time with friends before leaving for their own family Thanksgiving celebrations later this week, she said.