Category: Food Aid

Categories
Food Aid Food Pantries

Escanaba ACS Food Pantry in Michigan

Escanaba ACS Food Pantry, located in Escanaba, Michigan is one of the only Food Pantries in the Upper Peninsula. Being that it is the one of the only, they engage in mobile food pantries to different counties also to reach those who are in need. Director Robin Wycoff reported that they had over 1200 families last week that lined up for miles to come and get food that they needed. She says, “It was such an amazing, yet sad day; they served so many but had to also turn away just as much because they ran out of food.” They are currently working with Feeding America and are seen as the main point of getting food to people in the Upper Peninsula. They have been asked to step up by the Feeding America CEO when other pantries have either shut down or are unable to open due to fear. Without any hesitation, Robin expressed her willingness to step in and continue serving the community in this pandemic. The Escanaba Food Pantry currently operates on Mondays and Fridays, and will run three mobile pantries in April and May.

“Don’t you just praise God for our Escanaba team! Also thank you Pastor Daniel Rodriguez as he supports and serves his ACS Food Pantry! I am just praising the Lord more and more everyday for this work!!,” said Chelli Ringstaff, Director of Community Service/Disaster Response, Michigan Conference.

Here is a link to a news story on the Escanaba ACS Food Pantry.

Categories
Community Food Aid

ACSGW Thanksgiving Basket Distribution

The Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington (ACSGW) located in Silver Spring, Maryland, organized a three-day Thanksgiving Basket Distribution event from November 25 – 27. The 30-pound basket consisted of a turkey, bread, vegetables, and other food items.

About 1,000 needy families from Montgomery County received assistance, an indicator that government-supported food assistance doesn’t come close to meeting the need, Ken Flemmer, the Executive Director of ACSGW, said. The recipients who were mostly from Takoma Park and Silver Spring, waited patiently in line to check in and receive their basket.

The main sponsors of this event include Montgomery County, State of MD, Sligo and Takoma Park SDA churches, SDA World HQ, Steve Francis Foundation, White Oak Medical Center, and TA Prep School.

ACSGW has been serving the community for 36 years. Besides food distribution, the center also provides clothing, tutoring, summer youth programs, and computer and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. In a few weeks, they will be organizing a Christmas Basket Distribution where they will also give away toys to families with children.

Click here to read more!

Categories
Food Aid Local Church

Blessings on Christmas Day

The Community Services Team of New Life Adventist Church in Chicago met early Christmas morning at the church to set up to feed people from the community. Upon arrival, they noticed that some guests had already showed up. The Team, led by Dollie Williams, hurried and prayerfully took on the tasks of the activity. Sister Williams said, “It brought tears to my eyes to see so many people coming seeking a meal so early in the morning on Christmas!”

The Team was ready for action! They had prepared a full Christmas meal, “Soul food” accented with “Mississippi sweet potato pies”. The food was already hot as it was freshly prepared, so they rushed and started serving. The faster they served the more people came until the room filled up to overflowing. However, the people didn’t complain. They took chairs and set them up in the hallways to rest their plates while they ate. They were even allowed carryouts. The Team also had a nurse on duty throughout the event.

What a blessing it was for the guests, as well as for the volunteers. Sister Williams is grateful for all the members that gave donations to help with the meal. She also appreciates the efforts of those that helped to prepare the meal and those that helped to serve the meal. The youth of the church also took part in this event. They usually go out on the streets to serve the homeless people once they are done serving meals at the church, but due to the request of the guests to take meals to homebound people, they refrained from going to the streets. However, they gave gifts to all the guests, both adults and children. At the end of the day, there were over 100 carryout meals!