'I was hungry, and you gave me food'

Through the giving of nickels, dimes, quarters and dollars the Task Force for the Elimination of Hunger was able to provide nine new and expanded hunger programs grants to grow their outreach to the community. Sadly, other requests were turned away for lack of funds.

Connecting with the community is a key aspect of many of the grants. In St. Helens and Eugene backpack programs are connecting with hungry children. In Dallas and Pocatello kitchens are getting updates to support community meal programs while Pine Grove and Odell will get a much needed community food pantry. Churches in Chubbuck, Joseph, and Wallowa will receive funding for community gardens to help develop sustainable community food security.

This cycle of grants totaled $16,087, which completely depleted the task force’s grant fund. The task force is evaluating if it will be able to accept grant applications for its April cycle.

For the last several years, the major source of funding has been the Change-Hunger-Fast Offering at the Annual Conference Session in June. This year over $1,500 was also donated in honor of the ministry of Bishop Robert Hoshibata.

More information about the Hunger Task Force and the Grant program is available at www.umoi.org/EliminateHunger.