Status Update By Suzanne Belada I have thought and prayed about this post all weekend after working in the food pantry at Burke United Christian Ministries on Friday. It was a very busy day, and we are again down to very bare shelves and not a whole lot to give out. Right now we also have no USDA food to give out and are relying on donations from the community and the grocery stores that partner with BUCM to supply food. Many of you may remember that at the beginning of last August I posted about the great need for food in the pantry, and the response was great! However, we are again in need of the communitys help, and if anything, the need is even greater this year. We have more people who come through the pantry now than ever before; many are coming for the first time and because they just cannot afford to feed their families on the small amount of income they bring home. Others are homeless, elderly, or disabled; there are so many reasons that people are turning to BUCM for help, and it is impossible to volunteer and not be touched by their stories, their needs, and their thankfulness. It is also terribly difficult to say This is all we have, especially when requests are so simple - for dried beans or milk or cornmeal or flour or tuna or eggs. This list could go on and on because right now many of our shelves are bare. There are no canned carrots, canned potatoes, dried beans (esp. pintos or white beans), Hamburger Helper, jelly, and canned fruits; a minimal amount of macaroni and cheese, canned ravioli/spaghetti/beefaroni products, tuna, vienna sausages, instant oatmeal, coffee, and peanut butter;we are even low on canned soups, green beans and corn - items that we have always had. Rarely do we have simple condiments (mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise) or staples (oil, sugar, flour, salt, pepper) - things we take for granted in our own homes. It always brings me (and my partner/volunteers Steve and Mary) great joy when we get surprise donations of these things because they fly off the shelves and make people so happy! If you want to be blessed, I challenge you to volunteer a morning or afternoon in the pantry. Not only does it give you an appreciation for the food that you have in your home but it is very humbling. The next 2 weeks at BUCM, we are holding a food drive to try to restock the pantry. Jill King, director at BUCM, was interviewed last week by the News Herald and stated that we would like to exceed the 1100 pounds collected last August. That is alot of food but The Bible makes it very clear that it is our responsibility to take care of the needy among us. God commands us in Deuteronomy 15:11 You must willingly open your hand to your afflicted poor brother in your land. BUCM is a Christian ministry, supported by the churches in this community, and it is our responsibility to respond to the need of the poor, hungry, elderly, and disabled in our community. PLEASE donate to our food pantry during the next 2 weeks. You will be blessed. I am also asking that you share this post because I reach only a few people on facebook. I close with this thought: For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat. (Matthew 25;35a) We never know when we might be feeding Jesus.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 14:54:19 +0000
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