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First Congo's Food Justice Ministries
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The Hub is OPEN! See below for more info!
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What's going on this week?
Monday 2/1
Community Lunch and Pantry
in The Hub:
11 am-1 pm
Tuesday 2/2
Com
munity Lunch and Clothes Closet
i
n The Hub: 1
1 am
-1 pm
Wednesday 2/3
Food Bank Delivery in The Hub: 9:30 am
Community Lunch and Pantry
in The Hub:
11 am-1 pm
Thursday 2/4
Community Lunch and Clothes Closet
in The Hub: 1
1 am
-1 pm
Friday 2/5
Community Lunch and Pantry
in The Hub:
11 am-1 pm
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Monday
Chicken and Barley
Shrimp Stir Fry
Brown Rice with Lentils
Tuesday
Spicy Mac and Cheese
Green Beans
Wednesday
Mixed veggies with Turkey
Potato Wedges
Thursday
Mashed Potatoes
Mixed Veggies
Friday
Roasted Ham Sandwiches
Cranberry Sauce
If you would like to come to lunch but have dietary restrictions, let us know and we will do our best to have something available for you!
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for the month of February
has been given by Francine Fields
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| Our Ministry At A Glance
- We serve an average of 50 people at our Community Lunch every weekday.
- We serve over 150 people in our pantry each week, which is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
- We give away over 1500 pounds of groceries each week through our food pantry.
- We give away 500 pounds or more of gleaned produce, bread, and prepared foods each month.
- Our gleaned foods come from businesses including Panera and Whole Foods, as well as local farmers from Roots Memphis, the Cooper Young Community Farmers Market, Bring It! Food Hub, Overton Park Community Farmer's Market, and the Rhodes College chapter of the Food Recovery Network.
- We harvest fresh vegetables from our own raised bed garden to be used in Community Lunches and given away in the pantry.
- We maintain three beehives as a witness to be good stewards of the Earth, and to harvest and distribute delicious local honey.
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THE HUB IS OPEN!
The Hub at First Congo is OPEN! We are so excited to welcome hundreds of visitors each week into our beautiful new space that hundreds of volunteers and donors have made possible.
We need volunteers to help serve lunch and assist visitors in the Food Pantry and Clothes Closet! Volunteer hours are 10 am-2 pm Monday-Friday.
We also need volunteers to greet people at the front door, act as our welcomers to sit with folks at lunch, and to help prepare meals!
Reply to this email to let Molly know if you are interested in volunteering!
Our new hours are
Monday-Friday 11 am-1 pm. Community Lunch will be served every day, the Clothes Closet will be open Tuesday and Thursday, and the Food Pantry will be open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during those hours.
Reply to this email for more info!
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Girl Scout Cookies for our Food Pantry!
Kara Bartlett-Detrie has set up her facebook cookie page to raise 600 boxes for the First Congo food pantry - each family can get a box of cookies if she reaches her goal. The link to the page is here:
Kara says, "I plan to Raise cookies for my church food pantry where they can go to those who need a tasty treat the most. Choose favorite flavors and check DELIVER IN PERSON and I will take them to the pantry! During last year's sales, I learned that giving cookies to others in need who would enjoy them was better than eating them myself!"
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Volunteer Meeting Saturday February 13th!
Every two months on the second Saturday we meet to talk about all of the exciting things happening in the Food Justice Ministry! Our next meeting will be Saturday February 13th at 10 am in The Hub!
Veteran volunteers and new folks who are interested in learning more are invited to come share ideas and stories, and help plan programming for the ministry!
Reply to this email for more info!
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Calling All Casseroles!
Monday through Friday we serve hot meals to over 50 people per day at our Community Lunch! Volunteers, like Lorraine Cornish (left), make their favorite casseroles and freeze them to be served as needed.
We can serve everyone with 6 regular sized (9"x13") casseroles. We can provide aluminum pans (20"x13"--3 make a full lunch). You can bring them frozen on Sunday or whenever you come by the church!
Reply to this email for more info!
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Housewarming Gifts for The Hub!
We have a few last needs for The Hub:
- Fridge for the serving kitchen
- Stools for volunteers serving lunch, in Clothes Closet, and in the Food Pantry
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| NEW Volunteer Opportunities! |
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Volunteer at The Hub!
Starting February 1st, we will be serving lunch, groceries, and distributing clothes in The Hub from 11 am-1 pm Monday-Friday! Volunteers help from 10 am-2 pm. You can come for all 4 hours, or break it up to fit it in to your schedule!
Here are opportunities to help:
- Prepare and set up for lunch at 10 am
- Serve lunch from 11 am-1 pm
- Sort and distribute clothes in the Clothes Closet Tuesday and Thursday from 11 am-1 pm
- Pack bags and assist visitors in the Pantry
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Pick up gleaned food!
- Tuesday night we pick up donations from Panera Bread on Union
- Saturday afternoon the Cooper Young Farmers Market donates produce for our pantry
- Sunday morning before church we glean from Whole Foods Market
If you would like to join our team of volunteers, let Molly know by replying to this email!
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Donate!
Make a contribution to the Food Justice Ministries! Donations support Community Lunches, the grocery pantry, and other aspects of the ministry that allow us to serve hundreds of our community members every month! This is also a wonderful way to honor family or friends for holidays and birthdays!
Here are the ways you can give:
- $750 provides groceries for approximately 400-500 households each month
- $375 provides a month of pantry food for 160 people/week (58 cents each)
- $90 provides food for a week of 300+ community meals (30 cents each)
- $1 provides lunch for about 3 people
Other Needs:
- We ALWAYS need bags (grocery, newspaper, ziplock bags, etc.)
- Tupperware and containers with lids (yogurt, ice cream, jars, etc.)
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Please respond to this email with any questions or comments.
That's it for this week!
Thanks,
Molly Peacher-Ryan
Coordinator, Food Justice Ministries
(901) 240-4627 (cell)
First Congregational Church
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