In its third year, Rectory, Set, Cook! set a new record for donations to fund anti-hunger and anti-homelessness initiatives
Rectory, Set, Cook! III, an online fundraising event featuring priests from across the Diocese of Scranton, set a record for money raised this year – bringing in $217,715 from 2,586 donors at the close of the competition.
The online contest ran for six weeks during Lent, beginning on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, and concluding on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.
In all, 37 priests participated in Rectory, Set, Cook! III, filming a total of 30 videos, which were made available for the public to vote for their favorite recipe or video. Many of the priests were joined by guest ‘sous chefs’ which included Catholic school students, faith formation students, parishioners and even three media personalities.
Money raised from this year’s Rectory, Set, Cook! event will benefit anti-hunger and anti-homelessness initiatives of Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton, while also supporting the parishes of the participating pastor chefs.
“Year after year, people tell us how much they love to see their priest participating in this contest. Whether the pastor knows his way around the kitchen or not, people say they love to see them cooking and raising money for charity at the same time,” Sandra Snyder, Diocesan Director of Foundation Relations and Special Events, said. “This year was particularly fun and exciting as we crossed the $200,000 milestone for the first time!”
In its inaugural year, 2022, Rectory, Set, Cook! brought in more than $171,000. In 2023, the online culinary competition raised a total of $197,000.
A number of community businesses help to sponsor Rectory, Set, Cook!, including the program’s presenting sponsor, Hawk Family Foundation. All sponsorship dollars raised stay directly with Catholic Social Services to benefit area kitchens, food and clothing pantries, and emergency shelters.
Throughout the 2023 calendar year, Catholic Social Services responded to an increasing need in the community.
For example, Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen in Wilkes-Barre served 107,832 meals, the Catholic Social Services food pantry in Carbondale served 22,617 individuals, and the Saint Joseph Food Pantry in Hazleton served 5,369 individuals.
The agency plans to use the money raised from Rectory, Set, Cook! to continue
to respond to the community’s hunger needs – as well as to help create a new permanent home for Mother Teresa’s Haven, the emergency shelter for the city of Wilkes-Barre.
Recipes featured in Rectory, Set, Cook! III are in a cookbook which is now available for purchase. Rectory, Set, Cook! Cookbooks will be shipped directly to a person’s home. Each cookbook costs $15 and can be ordered by clicking HERE.
We invite you to check out videos of all three years of Rectory, Set, Cook! by clicking on one of the links listed below. Once again, we’d like to thank all our generous donors who helped us fight hunger and homelessness in 2024. Stay tuned for news on our 2025 campaign!