Each year the need for food continues to rise. At many of our community resource centers lines form long before the distribution starts. Community Resource Centers works to restore dignity and hope in Christ through life-giving resources. God has provided new opportunities to build relationships while meeting spiritual and physical needs in the community. Church partnerships are vital in helping serve hungry individuals and families in Arizona. They shine a light in their community by opening their campuses to their neighbors in need. The friendly volunteers who pack the food boxes ahead of time and offer prayers to those coming through the line are sharing the love of Christ with people in hard seasons. There has also been an increase in churches putting on food drives to add to the supply at their local resource center. Food drives provide additional support that is especially helpful with the ever-changing supply chain.
In the Central Region, we continue to partner with regional food banks United and St. Mary’s. Changes are underway in the process of how we get food for the centers. Both food banks are transitioning to having our team rescue food directly from local grocery stores. This new dynamic is different than before but we are looking forward to building strong relationships directly with them. St. Mary’s provided a leased truck to help with this adjustment. We are grateful for the faithfulness of our volunteers through the shifts. Individuals and families are continuing to receive much-needed resources thanks to their steadfast commitment to serving.
The Southern Region has also experienced some updates. Caring Ministries installed a back fence, a vehicle lift large enough to service both trucks and standard vehicles and a roof structure over the lift to provide relief from the summer heat. Some of the trucks also received a facelift. A generous anonymous donor gave the funds to wrap a couple of the box trucks with our information, providing better visibility in the community during food pickups. The Lord also opened the door to re-establish a connection with the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. We continue to provide food to those in need and invest in the men in our Life Development Program. The group of guys who are still in the program are doing well and are continuing to work towards a stable future. These changes are making a way to provide opportunities for the people we serve in the future.
God sees the growing need. He is creating changes that allow us to deepen relationships with partners and serve hungry children and families around the state.