Quite possibly our most effective ministry here at Calvary Chapel, the servants of our Food Closet are dedicated to making life better for others. Comprised almost entirely of retired folks, these hard-working saints weekly gather hundreds, if not thousands of pounds of food from local food banks and outlets stretching from Roseville to Placerville; they sort it, bag it, distribute it, and even carry it to the cars of those who have a need for some groceries. Even more, our servants prepare pastries, coffee and other tasty treats in order to facilitate fellowship with folks who come to the Food Closet for groceries and (for some) their only human contact all week. And they do this every Tuesday.
Our Food Closet serves three vital purposes: - Community outreach
- Food for those in need
- Active ministry involvement for church members
Jesus told His disciples, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth..." (Acts 1:8). The Georgetown Divide is our "Jerusalem," and the Food Closet is a witness to all locals that Jesus is alive and that He cares. The Lord also declared, "It is more blessed to give than to receive...", and our servants and those to whom they minister are most certainly blessed.
Feel free to drop by our Fellowship Hall and join in the ministry of the Food Closet for some great fellowship, fattening treats, good coffee - and most of all, for serving the Lord.
Food Closet Hours: Every Tuesday, Noon - 3 p.m. |
posted Jan 6, 2010 4:34 PM by Logic Infusion
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updated Apr 4, 2010 10:03 PM by Jay McCarl
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The Food Closet continues to serve many families in our community. So far during 2006 there have been 440 different families who received food at one time or another. We seem to average about 85 to 90 families per week, although we have had as many as 129 families come on one Tuesday. To put that into perspective, during a recent conversation at the Greenwood Post Office, the statement was made that we have served more families this year than they deliver mail to in the whole Greenwood area.On any Tuesday, you will find as many as 20 dedicated workers busy preparing the bags of groceries between 10:00am and 11:30am. Between 12:00 noon and 3:00pm, anyone in the community that is in need of groceries is welcome to come receive groceries. Refreshments are also served, and often you will find conversations over a cup of coffee and piece of pie, while the workers and those receiving food share a few minutes of their day, and friendships are built. The Food Closet gives away a ton of food (literally) every month. And even though all of the labor and transportation, and some of the food is donated, most of the food is purchased through the Food Bank at a small fraction of the cost of what it would be if it were to be bought retail. Still it cost nearly $9000 during the first 10 months of this year, and we have given out over 8100 bags of groceries. The Food Ministry is operated solely on donations. There are those at Calvary Chapel that faithfully support this ministry, and to those we want to say a big THANK YOU, and there are those in the community that faithfully support this ministry, and to those also we want to say a big THANK YOU. There are also those who support us occasionally, to you we want to say THANK YOU. Recently we also received a charitable contribution of $150 from PG&E, we want to say THANK YOU for that donation as well. We would also like to say THANK YOU to all of those who so faithfully give so much of their time and energy to make this ministry a success. If you would like to make a donation, you may send or bring it to Calvary Chapel on the Georgetown Divide, clearly marking it for the Food Closet. Blessings, Gail Archer |
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