Every Wednesday morning there is a familiar presence on the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market, and beneath that presence is a powerful story of generosity.

On one particular Wednesday, Sisters Veronica Susan and Elizabeth Anne, both with Little Sisters of the Poor in Philadelphia, were moving briskly and quietly down the aisles beneath the colored banners that designate the market sections. With their cart filling quickly with donated fresh produce from the merchants on the market, they were bustling to finish and get the food back to the Holy Family Sister Elizabeth Anne and Sister Veronica Susan collecting donations at the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market for Little Sisters of the Poor Philadelphia’s Holy Family Home.Home in Philadelphia to feed the 96 elderly residents that the organization supports, and also to share with other Little Sisters of the Poor facilities in the region.

“Our history goes back to 1839 when Jeanne Jugan carried a blind, elderly woman to her home, laid her in her own bed and cared for her,” Susan told The Produce News. “In 1869, which was the second year that the Little Sisters had an official presence in the United States, a small band of Little Sisters arrived at the Port of Philadelphia from France at the request of the Archbishop.”

Today, the Little Sisters offer hospitality to the needy elderly in 31 countries at 196 homes. Thirty of those homes are located in the U.S., including the one in Philadelphia.

Susan said that produce merchants in the city have been supporting the home since long before the old Packard Ave. facility was even built.

“The sisters would go to the dock by horse and buggy where the merchants sold produce and other foods,” she explained. “They would walk the dock begging for donations, which they would use to help support the elderly. The merchants have donated generously since those days.

“Going to the new market is a joy,” she continued. “We always try to stay discreet and not interrupt or interfere with business, but often the men on the dock floors will stop a discussion with a customer to turn and talk with us. They often say ‘Our best customers are here,’ and we’re not even paying customers.”

She added that regardless of gender, religion or background, the people at the market treat the sisters with the highest level of respect, often asking that they say a prayer for them. The kindness and generosity of the merchants has always been unwavering.

Susan has a unique background that is easy to understand when one views her tall, straight posture and definitive stride as she walks the market aisle. She became a nun in 1980 after being a dancer and a model, and even trying her hand at acting.

“I, like so many people, just kept searching for what my true calling from God was,” she said. “As I grew up and out of my young freedom days I began to realize that none of those things had the lasting zing that I was yearning for. The word ‘truth’ continually surfaced in my brain, and I was increasingly more determined to get to the bottom of what it meant. That’s when I started to pray again, which opened my heart to God. Once I did that my prayers were answered, leading me to what I am doing today.”

The Holy Family Home provides care for the 96 elderly people in independent living apartments for low-income seniors, private rooms for personal care and private rooms for skilled nursing care, which are Medicaid and Medicare certified. And although much of what it is able to provide the elderly with is from donations, volunteers and employees, the government also supports it with items like canned goods. It employs a foodservice purchaser that buys what it cannot get in donations. It also shares the fresh produce donated by the merchants at the PWPM to the Holy Family Home in Baltimore.

“The merchants only give us the freshest produce they have, never what is going bad or that has a short shelf life,” said Susan. “There have been times that we discovered that cases of product they give us were worth $80 a box. We tell them that they do not need to do that, but one response I remember is pretty common among them all. The merchant said to me ‘Money is money, but you cannot put a price on the good work that the Little Sisters of the Poor are doing.’

“The people at the market work unbelievable hours,” she continued. “They work to support their families and give their children good educations. And on top of that they make it possible for us to help so many elderly people. There is a level of goodness there that is beyond the imaginable.”

At its annual fundraiser a couple of years ago, Little Sisters of the Poor in Philadelphia honored the merchants at the PWPM. The honor noted, “For their sincere dedication and constancy as men of integrity and virtue, the Little Sisters of the Poor wish to recognize and thank all merchants of the Philadelphia Produce Market.”