Faith Lutheran Church Fall Food Drive
On Saturday, November 19, over eighty-five members of Faith Lutheran Church and the New Providence community gathered at Faith to sort and pack into boxes an estimated $32,700 of canned and packaged food designated for the needy.
The food had been collected from New Providence residences by Boy Scout Troops 1 and 63 and Cub Scout Packs 99, 263 and 363. The prior Saturday, the scouts had left empty bags at the residences with requests to contribute food for pickup on November 19.
The eighty-five volunteers prepared over one hundred forty boxes of food for twenty-five families who live in New Providence. The boxes were distributed to the local residents by the New Providence Community Service Association, under the direction of Nancy Valerio. The Community Service Association added turkeys and pies to the boxes.
More than two hundred additional boxes were packed in a truck and delivered on Saturday, November 26 by Faith to StarFish Pantry, a combined Jewish/Christian organization in Plainfield. The delivery was coordinated by Chris Melhuish and seventeen other volunteers from Faith. StarFish Pantry provides emergency aid to about 9,000 people in the Plainfield area, two-thirds of whom are children. While the resources of the Pantry were almost depleted, the new food will meet the needs of the Pantry throughout the winter and early spring.
Summit resident Cheryl Bock, a parishioner of Faith Lutheran Church, was the chairperson of the Fall Food Drive. For more than twenty years, Ms. Bock has fulfilled this significant responsibility.
The pastor of Faith is Rev. Jane McCready. For more information about the food collection and other outreach programs of Faith, one may call the church office at 908-464-5177 or e-mail the church at Family.Faith@verizon.net The web site is famfaith.org.
Courtesy photos
