Mission possible: Church food basket program grows with need

By Kathy Cook Hunter

Kim Visser of Silverton is passionately enthusiastic about her church’s Mission of Hope project.

“Serving the poor is at the heart of our church’s mission, and mine as well,” she says.

The home physical therapist for Providence Benedictine in Mount Angel is acutely aware of physical pain.

“Many people who come to MOH are hurting physically, and offering prayer for healing is for me a big part… my mission personally is offering food and spiritual support as well,” Visser said.

On a Saturday in October, 175 families, or “guests,” line up at Silverton’s Robert Frost School gym for food distribution. Asked if they need prayer as they leave for their vehicles, Visser said many say yes and don’t seem surprised.

“Some pass, some accept,” she said. “I notice some come back and there’s been a change. So we’ve seen prayers answered. They report things are different.”

Visser is one of 60 to 100 volunteers, about 80 percent of them from Silver Creek Fellowship, said Kirsten Barnes, Silverton coordinator. Others are from the community at large including other churches, civic groups and interested individuals. One Silverton High senior made it the focus of his senior project.

Volunteers of all ages manage many tasks, Barnes said. Early Saturday, seven to nine volunteers unload truckloads of canned or frozen foods plus fresh produce previously stored at a local warehouse.

Nearly a dozen organize stacks of proteins, cereals and breads, fruits, vegetables, pastas and more on tables. Church women have worked two days to prepare a meal served on Saturday; it comes with recipes for specific foods in that week’s distribution.

“The meal depends on what we have to give,” said volunteer, Grethel Alden, a Robert Frost teacher and a church member who serves as registrar as guests check in. The recipes spark ideas for meals at their homes, she said.

Barnes, a Silverton high teacher-coach-Red Cross volunteer, credits her parents for her involvement. “Ninety percent of it is my parents encouraged me to serve from a young age.”

And church children contribute these days, too.

“Wednesday night at the church fifth- and sixth-grade kids help,” she said. “They might break large bags of rice into smaller bags or sort through produce to remove what’s gone bad. They are a big part of our predistribution.”

Even preschool-age kids help on Saturday, handing out bags such as marshmallows or popcorn.

“It’s fun because people of all ages can help,” Barnes said. “We want to bless people. That’s our mission, tell them God loves them.”

As guests eat their meal, volunteers shop for them, customizing food boxes based on the family needs and placing them in shopping carts; the final step is when volunteers help guests take the loaded cart  to their car.

Alden describes the atmosphere in the school gym on food day this way: “You can look at the faces, look at the people, and you see how they appreciate it. They’re grateful and don’t feel like they’re begging a handout.”

Need is up

Demand has dramatically increased at Mission of Hope in the two years it has served the Silverton area. Marion-Polk Food Share is the main source for once-a-month food distribution at Robert Frost. Farmers and grocers, and other sources, contribute to the joint county program, from which on weekdays Silverton Area Community Aid distributes food. Both agencies allow for clients to visit once a month for food boxes.

To give an idea of the need,  MOH Director Steve Tipton said in 2011 Mission of Hope distributed more than 500,000 lbs. of food throughout its service area, or an average of 41,700 lbs. per month. In 2012, that increased to an average of more than 54,000 lbs. per month.

In Silverton alone close to 22,000 lbs. per month are handed out, Tipton said. In October 2010 the expectation was they would see 100 families and distribute 5,000 to 6,000 pounds, according to an Our Town article at that time.

Part of MOH’s growth is lies in its accessiblity.

“MOH is a mobile food bank that is at a school on a Saturday so the working poor has accessibility,” Tipton said.

Part of it lies in Oregon’s current economy.

“In Silverton, many clients are older, fixed-income or those with disabilities,” he added. “We serve between 150 and 200 families here and 500 families in all our distribution area.” MOH also serves clients in Salem and Keizer.

Food supply varies, he said, with “more at holiday times and lots of fresh produce in late summer.” Local contributors include Wilco, BrucePak and Salem Harvest.

Tipton has mentored other agencies in the Santiam Canyon, including Mehama-Lyons-Detroit, helping them start their own food programs using his model, and he lobbies at the Oregon Legislature.

In a two hour block on the third Saturday, he said, volunteers will distribute 150 to 200 food boxes in Silverton.

Working with the Silver Falls School District, Tipton said the district sends reminders to free school lunch recipients of the food day.

“We know that if you have hungry kids, they don’t do well in school. It’s a real hunger issue,” he said.

“In Marion County more than 16,000 people are eating out of food boxes,” Tipton said. “One of our dreams is to open up a food site at both of Silver Creek Fellowship’s two campuses.

“The church funds MOH out of its general fund, and we do need to build community support at some point,” he said.

“We log over 1,000 volunteer hours per month; we believe in it. We’ve received a number of grants – a walk-in freezer, pallet racks, a walk-in cooler, a fork lift. We want to focus on what we do, caring for people…this is really the church in action.”