The Grace Food Cupboard is dedicated to providing food assistance to needy families residing within the East Penn School District. Food distributions are held from 2 to 4 pm every Wednesday, and signs are posted to direct you where to park and which door to use to pick up your food.
Each Wednesday, different items will be distributed:
• First Wednesday – Bread, Baked Goods and Free Items
• Second Wednesday – Bread, Baked Goods, Free Items and U-Pick Racks
• Third Wednesday – Bread, Baked Goods, Free Items and Personal Care items
• Fourth Wednesday – Pre-Packed Groceries, Bread, Baked Goods and Free Items
• The Food Cupboard is also open on Sundays at 11:30 am (immediately following worship)
How you may help this ministry:
1. Donate non-perishable foods. You may drop items off at church on any Sunday morning, at the church office from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm Monday - Thursday, or from 8 am to 1 pm on Friday, or call the office to see if another time can be arranged. Please donate ONLY food - we are not taking used clothing, furniture, etc. Current items needed: boxes of dry cereal. We are also accepting empty egg cartons.
2. Donate to the Food Cupboard via Venmo: go to GLC Venmo and put "Food Cupboard" in the "note" section.
3. VOLUNTEER! Please call the church office (610-966-3325) and ask for Pastor Samantha. At this time, additional Food Cupboard shoppers are needed. Many thanks to the members of the congregation who are regular Food Cupboard shoppers. These volunteers do a great job shopping in bulk for selected items needed to fill a food bag. At this time we are looking for additional folks to help with the monthly shopping for personal care items, as well as a few food items. The requirement would be to purchase 40 or 80 units (the quantity depends on the item); bring them to church at a prearranged time (usually around the 3rd Sunday of the month), and present your receipts in order to be reimbursed. Food insecurity in our area and across Pennsylvania continues to grow, so the need is great. If you are willing and able to spend a little time helping with Grace's Food Ministry in this way, please call or text Betsy Repash at 443-624-2750. Thank you!
Thank you to our volunteers: Thanks to Ken and Mary Schaeffer and Pat and John Smack for all they have done and continue to do to run this wonderful ministry; thank you to all our wonderful regular volunteers and supporters as well. MANY thanks to our generous food donors - Weis Emmaus, Weis Macungie, Holy Spirit Lutheran in Emmaus, and the Bread Ministry of Emmaus. A special thank you to Mark Lichtenwalner, Connor Keim from Lone Birch Microfarm, Todd Farber, Joy from Bethel in Emmaus, Jeff from the Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit in Emmaus, Carol and Lon Grubb, Carol Boyer, and Jill, Sandy and Robyn (neighbors of Ken and Mary Schaeffer) who all donated beautiful fresh produce. Grace now has 343 families registered since July 2022. What a great feeling to know we make a difference in people's lives.
History of this this ministry: The Grace Food Cupboard started in June 2020, when the Zionsville Food Pantry, because of the pandemic, needed a way to distribute those food donations that were not deemed necessary to meet the government requirements. They called Grace, and we moved crates of items like cake mixes, spices, tomatoes, potatoes, cooking oil, beans, pudding, drinks, snacks, odd vegetables, colored pasta, etc. to our chapel hallway. However, we soon realized that we needed more nutritious food for our clients. So we asked members and friends to donate canned meats and pasta meals, peanut butter, and other items so our clients could make better choices.
At that time, the Grace Food Cupboard evolved into a drive-up distribution on Tuesday and Friday of the last full week of the month, where anyone in the congregation or community could come and receive two pre-packed bags of groceries. The bags contain cereal, peanut butter, jelly, canned fruit, two cans of vegetables, a box of mac and cheese, pasta and sauce, two cans of beans, a meal helper, canned meat, a canned pasta meal, and snacks. Beginning in February of 2022, the distribution dates and times changed to the Wednesday schedule listed above. On these dates, guests may enter Fellowship Hall and choose their own additional items from the available selection.
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