A few weeks ago, inspired by the way the early church apparently made a priority of caring for the vulnerable people in its society (see Acts 6), Mars Hill Church started a food drive to care for the vulnerable in our society in a similar fashion. For the past few weeks, the local churches have been collecting non-perishable food in an attempt to love the people in and around them. As the early church fed the widows, some of the most vulnerable people of that day, the modern church set out to feed some of the vulnerable people of our day—the many who are struggling to feed themselves and their familes.
Mars Hill completed its church-wide food drive this weekend and sent off thousands of pounds of food to local charities focused on caring for the people who make up the communities around our churches. The final numbers have yet to be tallied, but as of yesterday half of our locations had collected and distributed nearly 5,000 pounds of food. This food was donated to local organizations by each church to ensure that it would be put to its most effective local use.
Mars HIll Ballard filled two 50 gallon drums to the brim with cans of food and donated them to the Greenwood Food Bank.
This is just some of the food that made up the 633 pounds that Mars Hill Sammamish donated to the Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank.
Bellevue sent 1,167 pounds of non-perishables to the Hope Link food bank. Hope Link is focused on helping families through hard times and offers everything from food banks to meal delivery to educational and transportation assistance in Bellevue and beyond.
In Albuquerque, the church donated 430 pounds of food to the Roadrunner Food Bank of New Mexico. In addition to distributing food directly to those in need, the Roadrunner Food Bank also serves shelters, soup kitchens, and more.
The Rainier Valley Food Bank is 250 pounds heavier thanks to our church there. This food bank offers on-site food distribution, prepared foods for those without kitchen access, and food delivery for those unable to travel to the food bank.
Mars Hill Olympia sent 450 pounds of food to the local Union Gospel Mission, which supplies not only hot meals but also recovery programs, Bible studies, crisis counseling, and a safe haven for hurting people.
In Portland, the church donated 456 pounds to the Alberta office of the Portland Department of Human Services. The DHS offers a variety of programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP. This program is designed to supplement the nutritional needs of local households.
In Tacoma, 1,072 pounds of food were hauled over and donated to the Emergency Food Network, which supplies food to more than 60 food banks, hot meal sites, and shelters around the Tacoma area.
Mars Hill Shoreline sent 520 pounds of food to Food Lifeline Shoreline, which supplies food banks, food pantries, hot meal programs, shelters, and after school programs as well as innovating programs to get surplus food into the hands of people who need it.
