Food Insecurity
- How can we fix the problem?
- What’s the next step
- People should not be going hungry in our community
- aim at better nutrition not just more to eat- better choices
- Access to food/ can’t get groceries at convenience stores- the cost is prohibitive at end of moth they are out of food at beginning of month the buy a lot because they have been hungry for the last 10 days
- Pantries need to make sure the food goes together
- May not have a refrigerator to keep things cold
- Could a church do milk?
- Coordination of churches and food banks
- Crisis center has fridges/ can we use some to give to food banks
- There are lots of food banks that people don’t know about
- Food banks must rely on donations and sometimes they don’t come in
- Summer- kids only can eat- not parents
- Not published enough that there is food for kids in summer- grant for schools
- Sometimes kids eat at school through week- but have little on the weekend
- Food (lunch) Spirit Wind Church - Wednesday
- Food (lunch) Fresh Start- Tuesday
- Kokomo Rescue Mission -every day
- Teach parents the right things to cook
- In summer while kids are out of school they eat more so the food stamps don’t go as far
- Can groceries come to downtown for the urban people
- Would grocery stores shuttle folks to their stores
- Get to know your neighbors talk to them- visit them
- Get out of your church walls- to see what people need
- Group used to sponsor milk vouchers
- Food pantry communications need some meeting where people can agree
- Need list of all food pantries (1st/ step)
- So every church will know how to reach pantries
- Golden choral, etc. can put food they don’t use in freezer and volunteers can pick up and distribute- is it legal
- Send e-mails to all about food pantries meetings
- Angel Food Ministries/ all churches are with-in walking distance
- Why can’t we do this with local groceries
- Churches could distribute
- Could feed for whole month (Angel food)
- Could be people in your church- even is you don’t know it- they might be going hungry
- May just have just one week of a little extra
- Not asking for help
- Sometimes its pride
- Make just a little too much
- 1 church in charge to distribute
- Advertise what needs are
- Pantries could swap if one has too much of something and the other has something else- etc. cereal for tomato sauce
- Needs could be put on web site
- Community garden maybe people could be taught to can tomatoes- green beans- potatoes
- Non-essential items
- Tooth paste/ tooth brush- diapers/ toilet paper/ detergent
- Food stamps do not pay for
- People usually need toilet paper- this is what they look for
- If you have never went hungry- you really don’t understand what is like
- Doing what Jesus told us to do- if you love me feed my sheep- feed my lambs- not just spiritual
- Most problems core from being hungry
- Can’t concentrate
- Can’t think
- Can’t make decisions
- Go to bed without dinner tonight and not breakfast in the morning- see how well you can think
- Transportation should not enter if all churches would be involved in food distribution
- Find people outside your church
- Churches-soup kitchens- alternate weekends
- Angels Food Ministries- or the like
- Churches could take turns cooking- staffing- distribution
- Church buses used to get people to get food (groceries) (volunteers- staffing- drivers-gas)
- Could also deliver groceries to people
- Volunteers are the main issue
- Need to be coordinated (communications)
- Model after meals on wheels as far as distribution
- How many soup kitchens?
- Meal everyday- shared by several churches
- Different groups of churches (then one from each group come together)
- Would you be willing to have poor needy to fish fries, chic and noodles, etc. for free?
- Get all for community- needs one person in charge- then a committee to let everyone know what we have and what is needed
- Keep in touch with Jeff after meeting with your churches to see what they think your need are
No comments:
Post a Comment