Spring 2017
Friends and Supporters of Sunrise Christian Food Ministry:
Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t know about you, but here at the Food
Closet, time just races by. It seems
like two weeks ago we were handling turkeys for Thanksgiving then we celebrated
Easter and now it is almost summer time. Oh well, it doesn’t matter the season, many people need help with food
availability and we are blessed to be called by the Lord to help meet the
need.
2016 was a big year for the food closet. We gave more than 1400 turkeys for Thanksgiving
and ended the year with serving over 37,000 people (565,000 meals). This was almost equal to 2015. However, since January we are ahead by 5
%. So it just continues with more and
more people struggling. With the ongoing
burden, you the community have continually risen to meet the needs. We are receiving and distributing 30,000 –
40,000 pounds of food every month. Our
volunteers are exceptional. They have to
deliver, store, repackage and distribute all of this. It seems to never end.
The food is coming from a number of sources. You as individuals, our 25 supporting churches,
schools, scout troops, businesses, and the US Dept. of Agriculture. We pick up from local stores 6 days a week –
Sam’s Club, 2 Walmart Neighborhood Market – Birdcage and Manzanita, Safeway,
Trader Joe’s , Raley’s, Grocery Outlet, Food Max, Elliot’s Natural Food,
Starbucks, Chipotle, Olive Garden, Pizza Hut, Family Donuts, Donut Stop and
others. See, it does take a community
to meet the needs of others. We thank
each and every one of you for your part in sharing love to others.
As you can see from all the food, the Cooler/Freezer
project is a major need for us to store and preserve meats, dairy, produce, and
deli items. We believe we have all the
required funds - $100,000. Thank you
from all of us. We have had a great
response from SMUD in the need for additional power to the site. They are calling it just a “meter and
service” upgrade and not a new project. They refunded our $5,000 project fee and will connect the power after
some upgrades we provide. And today,
4/26, we are meeting with the electrical contractor to finalize the design and
plans. It’s been a long time coming, but
we finally have a positive approach.
We would like to
encourage you to be an active participant in this year’s Stamp Out Hunger
campaign on Saturday, May 13th. This is the nation’s largest
one-day food collection event designed to help replenish local
food banks in the communities we serve.
Since 1993, letter carriers in every part of the country
have worked with family members, friends, other postal co-workers and allies to
use the second Saturday in May as a day to give something back to the
communities they work in. During the week prior to the drive, our letter
carriers will be delivering new, empty brown paper grocery bags to homes on
their routes.
On Saturday, May 13th, our letter carriers
will be looking for these bags, full of donated food, to be picked up from the
generous people on their routes.
Please encourage your church congregations, neighbors,
and other community partners to donate food to their postal carrier
on Saturday, May 13th.
To wrap up, here is a list of praises and prayers:
- Praise for Gods supply in product donations and finances
- Praise for sufficient volunteers to meet all the needs
- Praise for support and encouragement from 25 supporting churches
- Pray for continued donations
- Pray for strength and health of volunteers.
- Pray for solutions to cooler / freezer project
Thank you once again. May the God of Hope continue to
richly bless you for your continued support and prayers
The Board
Sunrise Christian Food Ministry.
|