Feed The Hungry

Anyone in need of food is welcome to come to our food pantry, accessed by the side door on the left side of the church. We have a limited number of items from a freezer section, refrigerator, and shelf-stable, canned goods. 

Food donations of shelf-stable (non-refrigerated) items are always welcome. Particular items include jars of Peanut Butter, jams, jellies, tuna fish, canned chicken breast, canned fruits, canned vegetables, pasta sauce, dried pasta, ramen noodles, Spam, Corned Beef Hash, Spaghetti-o’s, canned chili, canned soups, dried soups, spice packets, soda crackers, Ritz crackers, instant oatmeal packets, cups of noodles, instant macaroni and cheese cups. 

Community volunteers are needed on a regular basis and sometimes to fill in vacancies for other volunteers. Please feel free to contact the church to volunteer using the Contact Us form and tell us you want to volunteer in the message area of the form.

During the school year, students who are identified as experiencing situations of food insecurity have breakfast and lunch available at the school sites. What happens on the weekend? Some of these students may have little or no options for the breakfast and lunch meals on the weekends. Through the generosity of funds from the community, particularly channeled through the Juneau Community Foundation, funds are available to provide shelf stable food to include two breakfast items and two protein based lunch items along with two snacks for the weekend days. It is never enough to meet the needs of all growing kids, but it is a start to make sure there are at least four meal items provided each weekend from Labor Day up to the last week of classes. School personnel identify the students and community volunteers from churches, Rotary International, and local, invested volunteers gather to place the food into bags that are delivered each week to the schools for distribution to the students in need. Dignity for the students is a primary value of the program, so the distribution occurs by placing the bags in the student’s locker or backpack by school district employees. 

Each week volunteers gather to prepare the bags and deliver the bags to the schools. You, too, can be a part of this essential gift to the kids who will be our future. If you are interested in volunteering reach out through the “Contact Us” page on this website. Complete the form and under the “message” space tell us you want to be involved in the “food bag” program. 

A key determining factor in both the quality and the quantity of the food is the increasing cost of purchasing the food. We try to use bulk purchasing contracts, shop the local store sales, as well as asking merchants to assist with donations or discounted prices. For the 2023-2024 school year we had a 20% increase in the number of student identified as able to benefit through receiving the food bags. In the same time period we had a 15-20% increase in the cost of the food provided. We know that we could provide better food, more food if we had the volunteers to assist with the delivery of the bags to the schools and if we had additional financial contributions. It truly does take a village to raise a child, and a larger village can do more for our future.

Whether or not you can help by volunteering, please consider supporting the program by a financial gift. The QR code provided below or on the ONLINE GIVING PAGE  here will take you to a donation site. A gift of $25 a month sponsors a student for the year.