Food drive leads to community outreach

Bags were distributed to local households and picked up again after they were filled.

WINNIPEG – Peace Lutheran Church in Winnipeg recently executed its first food drive in an effort to achieve a ministry of presence in its community. The congregation’s board of evangelism organized the event to increase the visibility of Peace Lutheran Church to neighbouring households and to serve the community by supporting the church food bank.

Approximately 20 volunteers, including children, were involved in the pilot project. Door hangers advertising the food drive, and Peace logo bags for donations were delivered to approximately 300 households. Those households were revisited over the subsequent week to collect donations.

The endeavour was blessed with much enthusiasm and support. The average response rate in terms of donations was 25 to 30 percent, yielding an estimated 250 lbs. of food.  More importantly, these households were made aware that Peace Lutheran Church is a part of their neighbourhood, and that the church seeks to serve the community, in part via the food bank. In addition, some congregation members who were unable to physically participate in the food drive were moved to generously support the food bank with their own donations. “I feel strongly about helping the less fortunate,” said one such member.

Volunteers felt rewarded by the experience. “It was exciting to return to our [assigned] street and see the donations,” said Rev. John Blum. “With each bag that was ready for pick up, I got more and more choked up. I didn’t expect such a positive response,” commented Alex Bancroft.

For a bit of context, 300 households, the scope of this pilot project, constitute only about a third of a square kilometer. “We’ve only begun,” said Chris Anderson (Director of Evangelism). “The potential for growth and increased coverage is huge.” Based on the positive feedback, the Peace Board of Evangelism hopes to reach every household in the church’s immediate community over the ensuing years.

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by Hope Anderson

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