contributed by Brenda Vick, Faith UMC Outreach Committee Chair
During the holidays, Faith UMC in Fort Smith was able to provide food boxes, containing modified Christmas meals, to 10 families (47 people total) at the local elementary school, thanks to the church’s food ministry.
The food boxes provided enough food to supplement for meals during the two weeks that the children were on Christmas break. They included mainly shelf-stable foods, with the exception of fresh fruit. Each food box included: canned chicken breast, green beans, pasta sauce and noodles, corn, instant mashed potatoes, cereal, pancake mix, hot chocolate, cookies and other sweet treats, 3 lb bag of apples, 3 lb bag of mandarin oranges, shelf table milk, pork and beans, dinner rolls, fruit cocktail, tuna, fruit bars, canned ham, and much more.
“A box of candy canes with the Legend of the Candy Cane attached sent Merry Christmas wishes to each family from Faith UMC,” said Brenda Vick, chair of Faith UMC Outreach Committee. The distribution totaled 410 pounds of food with 24 different items.
The boxes were delivered to the local elementary school and distributed to the families mid-December.
“Each family received enough of each item to feed every family member,” said Vick.
They plan to distribute food items to these students again for Easter.
If you would like to help support Faith UMC’s food ministry, consider donating monetarily or volunteering to help pack or deliver boxes. Please reach out to Brenda Vick for more information or visit Faith UMC’s website.