FOOD OUTREACH

Philadelphia Presbyterian Church (PPC) has a passion for creating a welcoming environment where we share the blessings that God has abundantly given to us, creating an environment where all of God’s children are welcome and all needs are met. Here in Mecklenburg County 11.8% of households live with food insecurity. Nearly half (48.6%) of the 143,000 students in CMS qualify to receive free meals at school, due to household income. We believe we have a responsibility to address the issue of food insecurity and so we have made it a priority for the last 10 years to develop our Food Ministry.

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BACKPACKS

Of LOVE

In 2015, the ministry took the form of a program called Backpacks of Love, designed to meet food needs for students referred by a guidance counselor or social worker at Clear Creek Elementary School. Since then, the program has grown to include Bain Elementary and Lebanon Road Elementary Schools. The backpacks provide enough for one student to have 6 small meals on the weekend, helping students on the days they don’t have access to school meals. The church will prepare and deliver an average of 83 bags each week during the 2024-2025 school year to these three schools. During holiday weeks and over the summer, families have the option to request a bag to be picked up or delivered by the church.

FOOD MARKET

The PPC Neighborhood Pantry launched in June of 2022, as an effort to meet the summertime food needs of students who received Backpacks of Love at their schools. The Neighborhood Pantry is currently open on the third Thursday of each month so that school families could access the free produce and shelf-stable foods, plus cold items (milk, cheese, eggs) and pantry staples like sugar, flour, and oil. Our goal is to increase the frequency to at least twice per month, or perhaps more. We also hope to offer more fresh foods, and our guests have let us know that fresh foods are what they need but struggle to afford the most.

BLESSING BOX

The PPC campus also hosts a Blessing Box : a weather-proofed enclosure, clearly marked, where nonperishable foods can be donated and/or picked up by anyone who cares to stop by. The box’s motto: take what you need, leave what you can. We have recently learned from the schools and local assistance programs that non-food household items are desperately needed, too, and we hope to increase our offerings of those items.