|
Last month, Backpack Blessings put together boxes of staples plus a holiday meal, for all the families whose kids receive the snack packs. And the families came and received the boxes directly from us...so it was a wonderfully connected way of sharing holiday joy. I always look forward to this, as do many of you!
All of our families received a holiday ham or turkey, 2 large boxes of food staples, a bag of frozen items, a large bag of additional foods, a holiday pie, and a bag of fresh fruit!
As our clients pulled their cars up, we loaded holiday foods into the recipients cars, and exchanged holiday greetings and smiles. As always, our congregation supplied willing hands and hearts for the Backpack Blessing Holiday Meal assembly and distribution. In total, we packed about 550 large boxes of Holiday food for each of our 270 recipient families. Each family received a bountiful supply of food staples and a complete holiday meal for the family.
We unpacked and stocked the food on the tables, assembled the food boxes and bags, then broke down the shipping containers, and built more basic food boxes for the next shift to fill. A couple of photos of the process are shown, along with Jane Dail and Taylor McClellan who helped orchestrate one of the builds.
As always, First Pres. is central to the success of this ministry. The following found the time during this holiday season to lend willing hands to this ministry. A tip of the hat to Karen Reed, Taylor McClellan, Olivia Peterson, Kirsten Sonstegard, MaryLynn Keener, Nancy McAden, Gwen Lessard, Wendy Moeller, Pam Gaskill, Ann Griffin-Hall, Beth Paul, Ann Thornton, Anne Marie Lathan, and Jane Dail.
Thank you, as always, to First Pres. for your continuing support of time, treasure, and talent to this ministry, as well as to Jane Dail who sits on the Board of Backpack Blessings. And a special thanks to our wonderful staff without whom we could never continue to contribute to this ministry in such a meaningful way. And though this particular 'special' food outreach only happens once a year, this was one of MANY Backpack ministry builds First Pres. participated in this year. A total of over 60 First Presbyterian members engaged in at least one of these food/snack pack builds during the course of 2025.
We look forward to continuing our support for this ministry which serves Craven, Jones, and Pamlico County school age kids and their families as we move into 2026 and beyond.
| 
