As Need Skyrockets, Iona College Provides 140 Families with a Thanksgiving Feast
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — As more families face food insecurity and financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Iona College’s annual Thanksgiving basket collection provided 140 families with a full holiday feast. United in the spirit of Blessed Edmund Rice, founder of the Congregation of Christian Brothers, the Iona community each year carries forward the mission of service and compassion by collecting food items for those in need during the holidays.
This year, however, the need skyrocketed. During the basket blessing ceremony, Walt Ritz, executive director of HOPE Community Services, shared that his organization used to serve 700 families a month pre-pandemic. Now, they serve 7,000 a month.
“It was a sobering number to hear, but it shows that the meals donated and Iona’s continued service to others matters and makes a difference,” said Benjamin Mead, MTS, assistant director for retreats and spirituality programs in the Office of Mission and Ministry, which organizes the collection each year.
The Thanksgiving basket tradition began in the early 2000s. Over the past five years, Iona has donated over 650 Thanksgiving baskets full of food. This year, the distribution was conducted in partnership with four organizations: HOPE Community Services in New Rochelle; the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle; Greyston Foundation Child & Youth Services of Westchester County and Abraham House in the Bronx.
"Working on the Thanksgiving baskets this year was truly the perfect introduction to the Iona community, and more specifically, the Office of Mission and Ministry,” said Annika Ziels, a freshman who hopes to major in Speech Communication Studies. “I feel proud to attend a school that prioritizes service and standing in solidarity with others who are less fortunate this holiday season.”
Mission and Ministry is dedicated to keeping the foundational principles of service, justice and spirituality in the minds and hearts of the College community. The office provides students and the community at large with many opportunities to get involved in service, practice their faith, build relationships and much more.
“The collection of Thanksgiving baskets embodies Iona's compassionate concern for those made poor, a hallmark of our College mission and heritage,” said Carl Procario-Foley, Ph.D., director of Mission and Ministry.
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of nearly 4,000 students and an alumni base of more than 50,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona is widely recognized in prestigious rankings, including The Princeton Review’s 2025 national list of “The Best 390 Colleges” and The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse’s “2024 Best Colleges in America,” which ranked Iona at #66 in the nation overall and #8 in the nation among Catholic schools. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just six percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review recognized Iona’s on-campus MBA program as a “Best Business School for 2023.” Iona also offers a fully online MBA program for even greater flexibility. In July 2021, Iona announced the establishment of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, which is now principally located on Iona’s Bronxville campus in collaboration with NewYork-Presbyterian. Connecting to its Irish heritage, the University also recently announced it is expanding abroad with a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.