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About

(Blessed Gerard pictured above)

The Sodality of St John the Baptist was formed to serve the sick and the poor by providing nutritious, packed, non-perishable meals to local food shelves, to national and international disaster areas and help provide local food security.


We do this by working with parishes, schools, businesses, donors, and volunteers to create volunteer food packing events to package our highly nutritious meals and then donate the packaged meals to local food shelves and national and international partners for disaster relief.

 
The Sodality was founded on July 29th, 2015 by several members of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, also known as the Order of Malta.  The Order is over nine hundred years old and the original mission is exactly the same now as then: TUITIO FIDEI ET OBSEQUIUM PAUPERUM — defense of the faith and assistance to the poor, the sick and the suffering — this has not changed in over 900 years.

 
The Sodality of St. John the Baptist is inspired by the charism of the founder of the Order of Malta, Blessed Gerard, working in cooperation with God’s providence to bring aid and compassion to “our lords, the poor”.  We are, all of us, just one disaster or sickness from being impoverished and hungry ourselves.


The Sodality benefits from the financial support and participation in its activities by local members of the Order of Malta and its auxiliary.  However, the Sodality is a completely separate organization from the Order of Malta and is not sponsored, managed, directed or controlled by the Order of Malta.

There is no paid staff at the Sodality. It is entirely run and staffed by volunteers.


Please join us by volunteering, donating, underwriting, or sponsoring a food event at your parish, school or business and ask others do the same.

 

The Board

ROBERT J. HANTEN, KM, KCHSJ

CEO & Chairman

LISA HANTEN, DCHSJ

Treasurer

BRIT NOSER, KM

Board Member

ARIKA HEFFRON, DM

Vice Chair

MICHAEL STENQUIST

Secretary

ALEX LOVSTAD, KM

Board Member

MATTHEW HEFFRON, KM, JD

Of Counsel

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