Sharing Food and Blessings with Christmas Baskets

        Yesterday, our church sent out twenty-five food baskets to families in our community.  All of the food and was donated by members of our congregation.   Volunteers filled boxes to the brim on Saturday and more than 15 volunteers from our church delivered the food on Sunday. 
        Twenty of the baskets went to families in Warren who had applied for holiday help through the Good Samaritan Coalition.   The GSC, run out of St. Mark's Parish, collects the applications and then distributes them to ours and other area churches.  

Packing up the boxes before delivery.

Each of the baskets was overflowing with several days worth of meals and all of the fixings for a delicious Christmas dinner. The remaining five baskets were given to the 785th Army Reserve post in Fraser, MI.   From there, they will be sent out to families of currently deployed soldiers who are in need of assistance this holiday season.  We have been working with the 785th for three years, and it is a very rewarding mission.
  
If you have read the paper any time of late, you know about the widespread epidemic of homelessness and hunger in our community.  Asking for food assistance can be a humbling and difficult thing for families to do and it is hard to imagine that food security is so real a concern for many of our neighbors.   Thanks to our church, twenty-five families won't have that worry this Christmas; they will be full of pumpkin pie, turkey, stuffing, and much more!  It is truly wonderful that our church has once again given so generously to help our neighbors. 
-Sarah Martin-Fanone, Deacons' Moderator

Each family receives two big boxes filled with food, in addition to fresh meats, fruits, veggies, and bread.

Many hands helped shop for additional food items and pack the boxes.