Manzanola UMC is a small, rural church with a food bank that has a large ministry outreach serving Otero County, Crowley County, and surrounding communities. The food pantry is staffed by volunteers and is open the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month. All donations received are used to purchase fresh produce, dry and canned goods, frozen food, household items and personal hygiene products. In addition to monetary donations, the church partners with the Care and Share agency where we are ... 阅读更多
Manzanola UMC is a small, rural church with a food bank that has a large ministry outreach serving Otero County, Crowley County, and surrounding communities. The food pantry is staffed by volunteers and is open the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month. All donations received are used to purchase fresh produce, dry and canned goods, frozen food, household items and personal hygiene products. In addition to monetary donations, the church partners with the Care and Share agency where we are able to select some food items at no cost and purchase others at a reduced rate each month. Volunteers oversee all aspects of food bank services including, inventory, shopping, stocking, assisting shoppers with their selections as needed, preparing holidays boxes with complete meals for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and delivering food boxes for the sick, the elderly and shut-in’s and those without transportation. We collaborate with our local school and other community partners when they identify individuals and families in need to provide prayer, food bank access and resource information. We’ve assisted unhoused individuals and connected veterans with our local Veteran Service Officer when they’ve needed temporary shelter and assistance with resources to reconnect with family members. The Manzanola UMC food bank began as a small community food pantry housed in a little outdoor unit funded by a $500 grant. Due to grants that we’ve written and received, community support, the support of our church members and attendees, the care demonstrated by our volunteers and our service delivery model, our food bank ministry has grown and now occupies two rooms inside our church building. We continue to look for ways to ensure that we are able to continue to serve those in need since the need for assistance continues to grow; costs for housing, transportation, healthcare, childcare, medication, and utilities continue to increase and so many that reside reside in rural communities have limited employment opportunities, are retired seniors, or are households with fixed monthly incomes.
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