Food Emergency Support – Please help as you are able
We have an opportunity to make an impact in the community through taking part in addressing/minimizing the food emergency when the 987 students in the Mamaroneck School District who are on the free and reduced lunch plan do not have access to adequate food during this COVID-19 journey while schools are closed. The Food Pantry, the Larchmont Mamaroneck Hunger Task Force, and others have come together to fund Aramark, the food provider for that district, to provide a simple sack lunch and a box of cereal for each child. However, the social workers in the school district have reached out to me and the people of St. John’s to provide help distributing these lunches and provide additional non- perishable food items to supplement what is being offered.
We have reached out and are now partnering with Larchmont Temple, St. Thomas Episcopal, The United Methodist Church in Mamaroneck, and St. John’s Lutheran Church to “divide and conquer” this ministry. More houses of worship may join this initiative as it occurs.
Beginning Wednesday, each house of worship will take a weekday to have a team at Hommocks by 10:00 a.m. to distribute the sack lunches into three groups, load them into cars, and deliver them to three sites for these 987 children/youth to pick up starting at 11:00 a.m. The locations are the Hommocks’ parking lot, the St Thomas parking lot and the Murray Avenue School parking lot. Our days to carry out that plan are Monday, 3/23 and 3/30. The other houses of worship will each take one of the remaining days.
In addition, we are placing an order of the contents for non-perishable bags to be delivered to St. John’s, where we will fill bags and deliver them to the distribution site on Thursday 3/19, Tuesday 3/24, and Thursday 3/26 to be delivered with the sack lunches. The other houses of worship are participating in the funding through existing outreach funds and funds raised. I am working with U.S. Foods, thanks to the help of a parishioner, through which to receive the contents and will keep you posted of the costs and details. This will have a huge impact for good for these children, youth, and their families. If you feel called to contribute to this initiative, please make your donations to St. John’s feeding emergency need. Thank you in advance!
Please volunteer to be part of this in any way you see fit for you and/or your family. Other than making the non-perishable food kits in the parish hall, very little time will be spent in close quarters with groups of people. But please do what you feel called to do, and please help recruit friends and neighbors who are ready and able to be boots on the ground.
And now God, send us out to do the work you have given us to do,
Lisa+