KIDS EAT!!

NEW PICTURES -- posted September 3, 2010

ANNOUNCEMENTS -- August 10, 2010
Tracy received this letter and wanted to share it!

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Dear Food Planning Association Participants, Kids Eat! Site Volunteers, and Interested Advocates,

We are 3+ weeks into our Kids Eat! summer meals initiative and we want to share with you about our effort so far. During the week ending July 23:

   The 8 church walk-in sites provided lunch for an average of 38 children, 9 adult family members, and 6 volunteers per day;
   Three church sites distributed an average of 40 take-home bags of food;
   One church site provided sack lunches for the City Recreation Centers - an average of 78 children per day;
   Over 2,200 meals were served to children;
   Over 2,800 total meals were served;
   Activities and supervised play are being provided at each site;
   In addition to the children served by the church sites, the Boys and Girls Club sites served an average of 225  children per day. 

Since the end of summer school:

   Over 6,100 meals have been served to children;
   Over 8,000 total meals have been served;
   Over 240 take home bags have been distributed;
   Additionally, the Boys and Girls Club has served approximately 3,600 meals to children.

New children and families are coming for lunch each week. We are welcoming our neighbors. We are building relationships. We continue to be blessed. “So long as we eat our bread together, we shall have sufficient even for the least. Not until one person desires to keep his own bread for himself does hunger ensue.”    Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Peace, Carol

ANNOUNCEMENTS -- news from July 21, 2010
 The hands and feet of Christ have been busy at work this summer thru the "Kids Eat" program sponsored by Sierra Vista.  A special thanks to all the volunteers in the program.  Your dedication to eliminate hunger in the stomachs of children in San Angelo has made the program a great success.  In the first three weeks of the program so far we have fed approximately 525 children and parents who otherwise might go hungry.  The program continues until school starts, and those who haven't participated in it yet are missing a great opportunity.  If you want to volunteer you can get details from Tracy McIver.

 WEEK ONE

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS -- July 6, 2010

FUNDS NEEDED TO HELP FEED HUNGRY CHILDREN IN SAN ANGELO THIS SUMMER! 
There are 27 churches in San Angelo working together to feed kids this summer. Sierra Vista serving at the Gospel Ministries to Children at 1410 Garfield is but one of the 11 feeding sites around the city. Please include in your charitable giving this summer a donation to the Kids Eat program.

Visit www.sanangelohunger.org   or contact one of the committee members listed for more information.

Find a lunch box in the Narthex to donate or mark your giving for the Kids Eat program.

HELP, PLEASE! 

Kids Eat needs help in the upcoming weeks to help feed the hungry children of San Angelo. Following is a list of Day Coordinators:  Tracy McIver - Mondays  LuAnn Lupton - Tuesdays, Michelle Schweitzer - Wednesdays,  Mary Witt – Thursdays, Jan Chitsy – Fridays.  

Volunteers are needed especially for Fridays as well as any other day you could spare the time. 

See dates and location below. 

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KIDS EAT! is the name of the Summer Feeding Program chosen by San Angelo Food Planning Association.  Sierra Vista's participation in the Texas Hunger Initiative was decided on March 24, 2010 by our Missions and Alta Loma Angels committees , after hearing a presentation by Mary Herbert and Carol Rigby Heibert, serving as the THI Organizing Team for San Angelo.  More information can be found by following the links at the bottom of this page.

BASIC INFO: 

Sierra Vista, along with 20 other area churches, will be feeding kids all over the city during the time schools are closed this summer.  Sierra Vista will feed kids in the Alta Loma neighborhood for 35 days. We are planning to serve 50 meals per day; however this is an estimate that will have to be adjusted after the first week.  We have no idea how many folks to expect.    Mary Witt and Tracy McIver are Certified Food Managers and will be present for preparation and serving of food from July 5 through August 20.

 DATES:

Food will be served Monday thru Friday, July 5 thru August 20, 2010 
from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

LOCATION:

Food will be served at Gospel Ministries to Children located at 1410 Garfield.  This facility has a kitchen, tables and chairs, and gymnasium with recreational equipment.  The director of Gospel Ministries to Children, Jeff Waller, only requests Sierra Vista reimburse the cost of cooling the facility while serving meals.  Gospel Ministries to Children will also be providing activities two days each week for the kids who come to eat.  We will cook food at Sierra Vista in the Life Center kitchen and transport the food to the Garfield location.

 COSTS: 
SVUMC has received a grant from the Methodist Health Care System in the amount of $4000.  PRAISE GOD! Our goal is to keep costs as low as possible, and we think we can prepare menus around $1 per meal.  We will also need to pay excess electrical costs to cool the facility at Gospel Ministries to Children.  We are estimating this to cost around $800. As you can see, we will need more money than we received in our grant.

Please find a lunch box in the Narthex to donate to help feed hungry children in San Angelo this summer.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE: 
This is a mission opportunity for all of Sierra Vista.  We need folks to PRAY that we can nourish not only tummies but souls.  We need people to cook, serve food, clean up, donate money, play with children, etc. Watch for sign-up sheets to pick specific dates you can help.

Below is a list of items needed for Gospel Ministries to Children:
     paper towels, toilet paper, trash bags, fan to reduce flies, ice chests, plates, cups, utensils,   
     cleaning supplies, Heimlich Maneuver poster, Raw and Undercooked poster

Sierra Vista Kitchen needs hair nets, gloves, thermometers, food labels (item, prep instructions, use by date, prepared by: name).   

DAY COORDINATORS: 
Day Coordinators will organize the food preparation and serving one day per week.  The following will be Day Coordinators:  
     Tracy McIver - Mondays  
     LuAnn Lupton - Tuesdays
     Michelle Schweitzer - Wednesdays
     Mary Witt – Thursdays 
     Jan Chitsy – Fridays.

WHO TO CONTACT: 

SIERRA VISTA OFFICE...944-4041         
          Tracy McIver 
          Mary Witt 
          Jim & Liz Mohler
          Sherry Turner
          Sherri Tipton
          Shirley Oliphant
          LuAnn Lupton 
          Marilyn Gladson
          Gwen Woodward
          Lola Squyres 
          Dennis Hancock
          Julie Luce
          Tami Knight
          Shawn Floyd 

THANK YOU: 
We take this opportunity to thank each and every one who has helped support this project with donations.  They are very much appreciated.

(from Sojourners daily Verse and Voice):

Distributing food is a unique act of love because food is the basis for life. When the church can distribute food, it can allay one of people's most primal fears -- that of going hungry -- as a way of helping people come to peace. When sources of food are close at hand, peace may be sustained. - Pamela Couture, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean, and professor at Saint Paul School of Theology

 

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MORE INFORMATION:

For more information about the Texas Hunger Initiative please visit their website.  

 http://www.baylor.edu/texashunger/

and

Texas Hunger Initiative -- KIDS EAT!

www.sanangelohunger.org