Grate Patrol
Grate Patrol’s 2024-2025 season is being planned and we’ll update this webpage once we have some volunteer dates – please check back later!
Hands on Delivery:
Since 2018, the teens of St. Luke parish have been meeting up bright and early on Sunday mornings to drive around Washington, DC to hand deliver to-go bags of food & other necessities, blankets, and fresh cups of hot coffee to people living on the streets.
A Grate Patrol trip departs from St. Luke around 6am. We drive directly to downtown Washington, DC on a route that passes by a series of parks where large numbers of people experiencing homelessness gather. While we only drive through a small portion of the city, we will encounter anywhere between 50-100 people. Once we’ve handed out all of our bags, we head back to St. Luke in time for the 9am Mass!
When delivering the items, we get a chance to say, “hello”, “good morning”, and “what’s your name?” Unfortunately, many people experiencing homelessness feel invisible and forgotten. Our goal isn’t just to meet their basic needs, but also to show them that they are seen, heard, and loved.
Donation Drives:
Thanks to the generosity of the St. Luke community, Grate Patrol is almost entirely self-funded by the Parish. Last year (2022-23) we held 2 donation drives after the weekend Masses asking for donations of food, socks, blankets, toiletries, and gift cards. These donations were organized into the to-go bags which were given away directly to people experiencing homelessness.
To-Go Bags:
The donations that we receive are organized into to-go bags. These are simply bags filled with food, hygiene products, rain ponchos, gift cards for restaurants, encouraging letters, etc.
There are other groups throughout Washington, DC that provide food for those in need, but most of them give away prepared food such as hot breakfast, sandwiches, soup, or fresh fruit. In order to not provide the same types of items, we focus our efforts on foods that can be saved for later such as protein bars, bags of granola, crackers, fruit snacks, and/or mixed nuts.
More than Just Stuff:
While we do a lot of collecting and distributing of food & other resources, the heart of the Grate Patrol ministry is much deeper than that. It’s an opportunity to encounter the truly poor and grow deeper in love with God through our love for our neighbors in need.
From October 2021 to April 2022,
we were able to give away approximately:
- 1600 protein bars
- 1600 bags of granola or trail mix
- 1200 crunchy granola bars
- 2200 bags of fruit snacks
- 1000 bags of jerky
- 1000 gatorade, water, & juice boxes
- 400 rain ponchos
- 100 sleeping bags
- 50 tarps
- 400 $5 food gift cards
- And hundreds of sets sunscreen, sanitary wipes, and other personal hygiene products
Equipping the Parish:
Another way that we reach the goals of Grate Patrol is by providing the parishioners of St. Luke with the resources and training that they need to help people experiencing homeless that they see during their daily commute. After we finish a donation drive and we organize the items into to-go bags, we use some of the bags for hands on delivery and the rest we offer to St. Luke parishioners to give away to people experiencing homelessness that they see during their daily commute. We also provide a quick trainings on the issue of homelessness in our area and some tips on what to do or say when giving away the bags.
Unfortunately, almost anywhere you go you can encounter people experiencing homelessness. By providing St. Luke parishioners with to-go bags and some tips on what to say, we are able to make a difference not only in Washington, DC, but all throughout Northern Virginia.
Reach out to Benj Emrich at bemrich@saintlukemclean.org
for more info & how to get involved!
Registration for CONVERGE
This form is for registration in the CONVERGE program at St. Luke Catholic Church which meets on THURSDAY nights 7-8:30pm on 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month during the 2025-26 school year and Summer. Please fill out the following form and submit. All information will be received by St. Luke Youth Ministry staff and will be kept in our databases. CONVERGE is always free to attend, but we have a suggested donation amount of $50 which helps offset some of the costs of materials, games, snacks, etc. If you would like to provide the donation amount, please use the link to Faith Direct below. Thank you!