St. Ann Catholic Church gearing up for pierogi sale
Linda Mann, a parisioner of St. Joseph Catholic Church of Alliance, and Elda Gallina, of Alliance, stuff pierogies with a mixture of potato, cheese, and jalapeno on Tuesday. Between 20 and 25 volunteers come to the church on Tuesday mornings to stuff and pinch pierogies for the church’s 24th annual pierogi sale and dinner that will be held every Friday during Lent from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Photo by Evan Houk)
Mary Binion, who has been volunteering to make pierogies at St. Ann Catholic Church in Sebring for three years, double-pinches pierogies Tuesday for the church’s 24th annual fundraiser sale. (Photo by Evan Houk)
Volunteers at St. Ann Church in Sebring cut out circles of dough to serve as the casing for three different flavors of pierogies in preparation for the church’s 24th annual pierogi sale fundraiser on Tuesday. Frozen pierogies and dinners including cooked pierogies, haluski (fried cabbage and noodles), and apple fritter will be available every Friday during Lent from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., starting Friday, Feb. 16. (Photo by Evan Houk)
Roger Miller, who has been volunteering to make pierogies at St. Ann Church in Sebring for three years, prepares balls of mashed potato and cheese that will be stuffed and pinched into dough casings for the church’s 24th annual fundraiser. Three flavors will be on sale— potato and cheese; potato, cheese, and jalapeno; and potato, cheese, and sauerkraut— every Friday during Lent from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Photo by Evan Houk)
Don Brown and Sharon Szekely stuff pierogies with a mashed mix of potato, cheese, and jalapeno to sell as a fundraiser for St. Ann Catholic Church’s Fellowship Committee starting Friday, Feb. 16. Frozen pierogies or hot dinners with haluski (fried cabbage and noodles) and apple fritter will be available at the Sebring church every Friday during Lent from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Photo by Evan Houk)
Linda Mann, a parisioner of St. Joseph Catholic Church of Alliance, and Elda Gallina, of Alliance, stuff pierogies with a mixture of potato, cheese, and jalapeno on Tuesday. Between 20 and 25 volunteers come to the church on Tuesday mornings to stuff and pinch pierogies for the church’s 24th annual pierogi sale and dinner that will be held every Friday during Lent from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Photo by Evan Houk)
Mary Binion, who has been volunteering to make pierogies at St. Ann Catholic Church in Sebring for three years, double-pinches pierogies Tuesday for the church’s 24th annual fundraiser sale. (Photo by Evan Houk)
Volunteers at St. Ann Church in Sebring cut out circles of dough to serve as the casing for three different flavors of pierogies in preparation for the church’s 24th annual pierogi sale fundraiser on Tuesday. Frozen pierogies and dinners including cooked pierogies, haluski (fried cabbage and noodles), and apple fritter will be available every Friday during Lent from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., starting Friday, Feb. 16. (Photo by Evan Houk)
Roger Miller, who has been volunteering to make pierogies at St. Ann Church in Sebring for three years, prepares balls of mashed potato and cheese that will be stuffed and pinched into dough casings for the church’s 24th annual fundraiser. Three flavors will be on sale— potato and cheese; potato, cheese, and jalapeno; and potato, cheese, and sauerkraut— every Friday during Lent from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Photo by Evan Houk)
Don Brown and Sharon Szekely stuff pierogies with a mashed mix of potato, cheese, and jalapeno to sell as a fundraiser for St. Ann Catholic Church’s Fellowship Committee starting Friday, Feb. 16. Frozen pierogies or hot dinners with haluski (fried cabbage and noodles) and apple fritter will be available at the Sebring church every Friday during Lent from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Photo by Evan Houk)
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SEBRING -- Volunteers at St. Ann Catholic Church are busy making pierogies for the 24th annual Lenten pierogi sale and weekly hot dinner starting Friday, Feb. 16.
About 25 volunteers have been gathering on Tuesdays at 8 a.m. to make the fillings and dough, stuff the dough casings and pinch them shut, and then double-pinch the pierogies to seal them tight. By next week, 60,000 pierogies will be ready for pick-up.
Last year, all 60,000 pierogies were sold before the end of the last dinner, coordinator Marylou Foster said Tuesday.
Starting on Friday, Feb. 16, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., the church will be serving hot meals of haluski (fried cabbage and noodles), pierogies, and an apple fritter. The sale will continue every Friday during Lent through March 22, the Friday before Good Friday.
Cooked or frozen pierogies can also be ordered individually for $1 apiece or by the dozen for $10. To add haluski, it is another $3 and apple fritter is $1.50. Tables will be set up and beverages will be available for anyone who wants to eat lunch in the church basement.
There are three different flavors of pierogies available. All of them include a potato and cheese mixture. One variety is only potato and cheese, one adds jalapeno, and the third includes sauerkraut.
Foster recommends calling well ahead of time on Friday and prepaying over the phone for a faster pick-up.
The volunteers come from all around the local area and not all are necessarily members of St. Ann Church. There were several people volunteering Tuesday who did not live in the village but simply wanted to help out a good cause.
"It's a good group of people who come in," Foster said Tuesday of the volunteers.
However, new volunteers are always needed in order to keep the sale going in future years, she stressed.
Coordinator Amy Wallace, who has been organizing the pierogi sale since it began in 2000, comes in extra early before dawn to peel potatoes and otherwise prep for the pierogi-making.
Wallace said the pierogi sale was a brainchild of the Fellowship Committee as a fundraiser. Proceeds from the sale have given the church a new roof, a renovated and expanded commercial kitchen, and an elevator.
This year, funds will also cover the church's operating costs. Foster said the church has seen a decline in attendance since COVID-19 and therefore, less money in the offering plate.
"We have to do fundraisers so we can keep our church functioning," Foster said.
The original fundraiser for the Fellowship Committee is Donut Sunday, which started in 1974, and runs on the first Sunday of the month in October through May. Flavors available are glazed, raspberry jelly, peanut butter cream, angel-filled, cinnamon sugar, and a special flavor of the month. Cost is $10 per dozen.
Foster has been helping with the pierogi sale ever since she started attending St. Ann about seven years ago. She said that more churches used to do a pierogi sale as a fundraiser, but many stopped after COVID-19. Now, the only other church she knows of in Columbiana County that is selling pierogies is St. Patrick Catholic Church in Leetonia.
To place an order or to volunteer, call the St. Ann Catholic Church office at 330-938-2033.