SNAP response
From Pastor Seungrok regarding SNAP Response: Many people are concerned about our neighbors who may face hardship due to the suspension of SNAP benefits. Pastor Heather and I have been gathering as much information as possible and speaking with many individuals. During our Executive Team meeting, we decided on several ways to offer support:
1. We will support our neighbors through Restore Hope. Pastor’s Alms will donate $2500 that you have given to help vulnerable families.
While we could purchase food and operate a temporary food pantry ourselves, supporting Restore Hope is a much more effective approach. One of our members, Ruth Storts, serves on the board of Restore Hope. This is the wisdom that we gained from speaking to Ruth.
“My thoughts based on what I have learned from being on the board is that Restore Hope can likely fill a bigger need for the same amount of money and effort than we can—either individually or partnered with another church. With the reduction in SNAP funds, families are also going to be faced with other tough choices around how to spend limited resources—such as utility bills or rent or other necessities---with Restore Hope, they will have access to other resources and case workers to help through this time—in bigger ways than just food. They also are able to buy so much of their food from the Food Bank—so in bulk and at better prices.
One of the other examples they gave yesterday is that around $20 is what Restore Hope spends to try to feed a family of 4 for two or 3 days—they depend on the food they buy and also stores like Sprouts and Target and some others that donate some of the fresh bakery items or other items that they can’t sell—and Restore Hope considers those ‘extra’ items that can be selected when customers are shopping. I know that our church can also do great things individually—but to move quickly and get the most for our efforts, my thought would be to go through an existing agency and help build them up---I think Restore Hope is great, both with it’s affiliation to the UMC but also because it is a great agency!”
2. Additionally, we will be sending financial support from Pastor’s Alms to the Bixby Outreach Center of $1000 because they can also buy in bulk at a lower cost to help more people. With our new location, Bixby is our mission field and we want to help families in this area as well.
3. For Sunday School classes wishing to contribute, please fill out the check request form as usual and attach your class minutes. I will process it from there.
4. We also plan to allocate an additional $1,000 in consultation with the Mission Team. (This will be finalized via email today.)
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If anyone around you—or any of our members—are directly affected by this situation, please share this information:
1) They can contact Restore Hope for assistance.
2) Our church members may also receive additional help through the Pastor’s Alms Fund in the form of Wal-Mart gift cards. Please reach out to Pastor Heather to receive this help.
3) If navigating the process is difficult, we can help connect them with someone to guide them through it.
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Additionally, we have received helpful information through Julie Davis, which also offers ways to receive the same kind of assistance.
If you or someone you know is affected, help is available. No matter where you live in Eastern Oklahoma, you can call 211 or visit 211eok.org to find food services including food pantries, walk-in meal sites, home delivery, and congregate meals/nutrition sites.
If you would like to help, you can donate funds, food, or your time to local food pantries and nonprofits that serve these families and individuals. Restore Hope needs volunteers at both of their campuses.
Click here to view a list of food resources in the 211EOK service area.
Pastor Heather sent money last month to Restore Hope and the Eastern Oklahoma food bank. We have also been asked to consider serving a meal on Thursday nights in coordination with other congregations in the area. Our staff is buried with the launch of our new campus and we can not take on this additional responsibility. If you have a heart for helping in this way, we would need about 20 volunteers each Thursday and a leader to coordinate simple healthy meals. Let me know if you would like to lead in this way.
If you have any questions, please, let us know.
Seungrok Kim