It could be regarded as bad news, it could be regarded as good news. The monthly Feeding America food truck for Americans struggling with food issues served a record 142 families Friday afternoon at the United Church of Wayland. Officials said the number was more than 20 higher than the previous record. It could be bad news that so many people are hurting economically. It could be good news that so many are aware they need to go to get help.
The wonderful people of the United Church of Christ do so much for the community and I am very Blessed to belong to such an open and affirming group of “rag tag bunch of Jesus followers! Come join us and find out for yourself!
Peace be with you✌️❤️
It is interesting that the Food Truck served so many but that the local food pantry usage is down. Wayland Christian Neighbors is open every Tues. from 9am -4pm, closed12-1pm for lunch. the number of clients served dropped dramatically during Covid & have yet to rebound. The pantry offers enough food for 3 meals for 3 days for each person in the household. Clients may come once a month to receive food. There are some guidelines to receive help from the pantry. There is help for those in our community who are willing to ask!
There are some reasons for the differences in the numbers from the food truck verses Christian Neighbors Food Pantry. The biggest difference is the food truck does not have boundaries for serving people. I looked at our demographics and compared those with Aimee at Christian Neighbors. If you count all families they help within the school district to the food truck numbers within the same area, the numbers are similar. The difference is the food truck comes once a month while Christian Neighbors is open every week. The food truck is getting people from Middleville, Plainwell, Hamilton and even Grand Rapids.