Our church has long cared for the members of our community. Due to that, Rev. Tracey Beadle asked the Men’s Wednesday Bible Study and Mrs. Linda Voges to follow the model of Gruene UMC and to create the Backpack Ministry for Kids now known as the Weekend Food For Children or WFFC. Although it seems like just yesterday, that was eight years ago.
In the beginning, large sturdy backpacks were donated by groups like the Craft Group and generous individuals in the church to carry a weekend's worth of food to be given to each family of children with food insecurities. This went on for several years. When Covid hit, the group had to find another way to send the food home. At this point it was Central Market to the rescue with 1,000 large, heavy paper bags.
Last year the number rose to 74 students and the cost of running this weekly ministry began to exceed their budget. So this year the ministry has had to cap the number of students to the neediest 41 children.
Food is bought each week and delivered to the church where the men’s group breaks down the containers and packs the food bags for each family. On Friday, the food is delivered to Mrs. Smith, the Menchaca Elementary student counselor, who distributes the bags to the students who carry home the bags filled with crucial sustenance.
Click here to learn more about how you can support this ministry.
~MUMC Sesquicentennial Committee
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