Paul's Pantry turns down Planned Parenthood food donation

GREEN BAY - An area Catholic food pantry whose mission is to feed the hungry says no to Planned Parenthood.

As part of its Martin Luther King food drive, Planned Parenthood collected 50 pounds of food. It hoped to donate the food to Paul's Pantry.

“What was told to me was that they simply said we do not want any food donations from you period,” said Lisa Boyce, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.

Boyce says Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin started the annual January food drive two years ago in Milwaukee. Boyce says this year the food drive expanded to centers across the state. She says Paul's Pantry was supposed to pickup the Green Bay collections, but it never happened.

“We simply called there to offer to drop the food off,” said Boyce. “At that time we were told they did not want our food donations.”

FOX 11 talked with Paul's Pantry officials several times, but they declined to comment publicly.

FOX 11 asked St. Norbert College religious professor Paul Wadell to provide context to the situation. He says since Paul's Pantry is a catholic organization, Planned Parenthood shouldn't have been surprised by its decision.

“In the Catholic Church there is such an emphasis on the dignity of life, the sacredness of life that it really is a cornerstone moral principle that there is a fear of wanting to do anything that might seem to compromise that principle or to weaken the church's stance on it,” said Wadell.

According to Paul's Pantry's web site, out of the more than 14-hundred truck pickups it has done this month, the average food donation has been 227 pounds. That is more than four times the amount Planned Parenthood wanted picked up.

“It wasn't something that required a truck,” said Boyce.

“If the desire is you really want to help the hungry to bring the donation to Paul's Pantry, people bring food, drop things off, make donations all the time, without any reference that you need to know I'm the person or I'm the group doing it,” said Wadell.

Planned Parenthood says the intention behind its food drive was only to feed the hungry.

“We provide non judgmental care to everyone regardless of our patients, regardless of their personal, political or personal viewpoints and would hope that is the same for our other community partners including Paul's food Pantry,” said Boyce.

While Paul's Pantry won't comment on its choice, Waddle says catholic principles for life often come first.

“It becomes for many people I think a defining issue of catholic morality and to the point where it can overrule other moral considerations,” said Wadell.

Differences aside, Planned Parenthood decided to donate the food intended for Paul's Pantry to the Salvation Army. Planned Parenthood officials say they intend to do the same in the future.

Planned Parenthood officials say the situation with Paul's Pantry was the only one of its kind among the collections at its 27 centers across the state.