This article shares the story of a vibrant, impactful ministry supported by a Bishop’s Appeal Grant. Make a contribution to the Bishop’s Appeal to support ministries like this.
In 2014, the Outreach Committee at Christ Church, Winchester, saw that children in their community were experiencing food scarcity. They began a program called Panda Pantry, which provided backpacks with food for elementary students to take home on weekends. It began with about 30 bags of food packed each week and delivered to a local elementary school, and has continued to grow each year.
Bright Futures – Frederick/Winchester, a nonprofit that partners with schools to connect student needs with community resources, was established several years after Panda Pantry began. Christ Church began partnering with Bright Futures’ Food Pack Program to expand the impact of their ministry. The Food Pack program currently serves more than 1,200 children at every school in Winchester and Frederick County. A weekly pack contains two breakfasts, two lunches, a vegetable, a fruit, and a snack, distributed to students every Friday.
As this partnership grew, Christ Church’s program evolved. Christ Church purchases and donates cereal and snacks used in the food packs, and supplies a team of parishioners who visit the Bright Futures warehouse once or twice a month to stuff bags. The packing team, a small group of volunteers, spends about an hour packing bags each visit, sometimes assembling 500 bags in one session.
Amelia Wheeler, member of Christ Church, has been involved since the beginning. She shares, “Now we are part of a more community-wide effort but the fellowship with other Christ Church members and the sense of helping children and families in the community is the same. The name may change but the benefits to me, as a volunteer and to the community, are the same.”
Elise Stine-Dolinar, Program Coordinator at Bright Futures, says, “We have great packers – from Shenandoah University, corporate groups, civic groups, church groups – but getting the food is our biggest challenge every week.” If donations of food don’t come in, Elise and staff have to make calls or shop using money from donations to bridge the gap. This is why it’s important to Bright Futures that they know they can rely on Christ Church for a regular, monthly delivery of food.”
The Outreach Committee uses money from the operating budget to help fund the ministry with Bright Futures, but that’s not enough to cover expenses, especially as food prices continue to rise. The Marie Cooper Fund at Christ Church also helps support the ministry. Additionally, proceeds from ticket sales for the local Apple Blossom parades are used to support this ministry.
Adding a Bishop’s Appeal grant in 2023 to assist with providing food for students in need was a great blessing to Christ Church’s ministry and this local program. The Rev. Webster Gibson, rector at Christ Church, says, “As disciples working together in an assembly line, we have the privilege to help provide and pack the food these children need for the weekend. This lets the children know they are loved and blessed by Jesus, as we make sure they are fed. Our discipleship of Jesus becomes a witness that our social structures need work to ensure our society provides equal or fair opportunities for all children to be fed, and we show ways to respect the dignity of every human being, including children.”