CHECK OUT: Church Community Service’s New Food Pantry

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Church, Church Community Service, Civic Engagement, Civic Service, Community Service, Elkhart County, Elkhart County Business Donations, Elkhart County Indiana, Food, Food bank, Friends, Good Deeds, Goshen Indiana, Helping, Helping Friends, Helping Hand, Labor of Love, Michiana Tea Party Coalition, Neighbors, Volunteering, We the People 912

Labor of Love, which included businesses from St. Joseph and Elkhart counties, as well as “We the People” 912 and  the Michiana Tea Party Coalition distributed 80 bins and were among the first contributors to the new pantry.

More and more Elkhart County families are struggling on a daily basis to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. It isn’t just the unemployed either. Parents are working multiple jobs and skipping meals just so they can make sure their children are fed.  They have tough decisions to make every day: whether to fill up the car or put food on the table; whether to pay the utilities or put food on the table; whether to pay the rent or put food on the table. All it takes is one illness, one dead car battery or one rent hike and they can no longer take care of their family without help.

For those without family or friends nearby, Church Community Services provides hope , in the form of food and education and finanacial assistance to families going through hard times in Elkhart County.  When families are living in poverty, they have to do without a lot of things – food should not be one of them.

Tuesday, September 4th, 2012 was a huge day for Church Community Services.

It was the grand opening of Church Community Services’ long awaited renovated food pantry and warehouse.  Church Community Services has been working towards making this transition for 4 years.  The new building will give them the resources, space, and opportunity to better serve needs in our growing community.  It will allow them to store and distribute more food. It  will be cleaner and more welcoming, and will give space to be more volunteer- and client- friendly. They will also be able to put more focus on education, such as providing handy recipes and nutritional facts.

The new pantry is 1,225 sq. ft. compared to the former 494 sq. ft.  The new warehouse is 2,910 sq. ft. compared to the current 1,680 sq. ft.  There is also a 864 sq. ft. welcome center complete with a children’s area, and a prayer room for anyone who feels a need to pray. Lots of love and labor was put into this project, and IT SHOWS!

This nutrician video, full of advice on meal planning, preparation and nutrition runs 24/7 in the waiting room.

Amazing things happen when we are given the privilege of being the channels of the Holy Spirit’s prayer. Church Community Service’s new pantry facility includes a chapel to assist client’s needs.

Here is part of the children’s play area where volunteers watch the children while their parents shop at the pantry.

The ‘Seed to Feed’ vegetables look so good! Fresh garden vegetables are ALWAYS so appreciated.

Mary Kneller, Food Director for Church Community Services, generously used up some of her very valuable time to show me the new facilities. It was a real pleasure.

Elkhart Citizen proud to help his Elkhart County neighbors

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Appreciation, Church Community Serices, Civic Engagement, Civic Service, Community, Community Engagement, Dave Hochstetler, Donation, Elkhart County, Elkhart County Indiana, Feed, Food bank, Food Pantry, Franklin Citgo, Fresh Garden Vegetables, Garden Crops, Generosity, Grateful, Green Beans, Harvest, Harvests, Helping Neighbors, Mr. Singh, Need, Neighbors, Ron Robinson, Seed to Feed, Tomatoes, Volunteering

“This a testament to the reach of hunger and the plight of people in need. What an excellent expression of Elkhart…. ” said Rob Robinson, executive director of Church Community Services in response to Mr. Singh of Franklin’s Citgo’s generous donation.

“Elkhart as been good to me and my family. I want to give something back to this community.” Mr. Singh, owner of Franklin’s Citgo, said his generous gift to Elkhart families in need was  his way of giving back to Elkhart County.

Thank you, Mr. Singh, for the financial gift you brought to us from your business. You’re helping us extend hope to lots of your neighbors. What a pleasure to meet you,” Rod Roberson, executive director of Church Community Services, is most appreciative of the support Church Community Services has received from businesses like Mr. Singhs and from much of the Elkhart Community.

The results of some of ‘Seed to Feed’s” first harvest. I can hardly believe the summer and food picking season is almost over.

Church Community Service’s Weekly ‘Seed to Feed’ Update…

Hi Everyone,
As summer is coming to a close, so will our gardens. But, we still have
some good harvests left to pick. We will go back to our regular schedule:
the Bullard Garden on CR17 will be picked on Monday, Sept 10th at 6:00 p.m.
This will probably be about our last picking. We might have one more on the
17th of Sept, but we will let you know.

The Goshen Garden on CR 36 will be picked on Tuesday, Sept 11, at
6:00 p.m. and we should have a “stellar” harvest of tomatoes and peppers. The
green beans are just about finished, but we still might get some this next
week.

The potato field will be tentatively be ready to pick up next Friday,
Sept.14. The field will be “turned” and then we have a 24 hr window to
pick up the potatoes before they turn green which is not good. We will need
about 50 volunteers with 5 gal buckets to pick them up and load them into
the containers that will then be loaded onto the semi. Date and details to
follow next early next week.

And finally, I’d like to thank the 7th grade class of St. Thomas School
for their wonderful support of the Seed to Feed program. They came to CCS
yesterday along with their teachers and mothers, took a tour of CCS to see
what happens on a daily basis at the Food Bank and then came to the Bullard
Garden to pick beans. The students, 50 in total, along with their teachers
and mothers all got down in the dirt and picked 430 lbs of green beans in
2 hrs. It was a good learning experience for the kids and what a wonderful
blessing for the Food Bank and the people they serve. Thank You kids,
teachers and mothers for your wonderful support!!!
Have a great weekend and we’ll see you at the gardens as we close out
the harvests over the next few weeks, and don’t forget the potato field.
Details will follow next week.

Blessings
Dave Hochstetler
Coordinator of the ‘Feed to Seed’ Program

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Emily Sheet’s pig will provide 400 meals to Elkhart County families

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4-H, Auction, Benefit, Caring, Church Community Service, Elkhart County 4-H Fair, Elkhart County 4-H Fair Auction, Food Pantry, Generosity, Giving, Helping Neighbor, Nappanee Indiana, Neighbors

Last week, Emily Sheets, a 16-year-old Nappanee 4-H member puts the needs of the hungry ahead of herself by donating one of her pigs to Church Community Services. An average pig can provide 400 meals.

Northwood FFA supporters bought Emily’s calf and one of her pigs at the 4-H auction. Auction rules limit 4-Hers to two animals, but allow members to sell additional livestock at market value.

Emily decided that she’d already made plenty of money and chose to help the hungry.

“I can use (money) for a vehicle or whatever I want to use it for, but they need food. I have all the food I need,” Emily told an Elkhart Truth reporter Friday.

CCS reports that it’s seeing 2,300 families a month, as well as home-bound seniors. The agency tries to provide each client with at least 2 pounds of meat, but federal government cut funding for food assistance programs and earlier this summer the pantry’s freezers sat empty.

Emily changed that Friday.

Thank you for your generosity, Emily. Because I am a mom, I know that mother is SOOOOO proud of you…

Overheard in Church Community Service hallway…

“We appreciate you so much. My husband works, but only makes minimum wage and I am unable to work. When I can bring home my sons favorite cereal, I love seeing his face light up with delight! I don’t tell him that I come here because I don’t want him to worry. Thank you for being here.” -Pantry client

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Come to the Table: Dinner/Auction Event

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Amish, Auction, Chef, Civic Engagement, Civic Minded, Civic Servic, Clothing Assistance, Dinner, Donors, Food Pantry, Friends, Fundraiser, Medical Assistance, Mediication, Nappanee, Nappanee Indiana, Neighbors, Northern Indiana, People helping People, Philanthropic, Silent Auction, Utility Assistance, Well Baby Care

C O M E   T O   T H E  T A B L E

D I N N E R / A U C T I O N  E V E N T 

A UNIQUE CULINARY EXPERIENCE YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS!    \

SATURDAY AUGUST 11, 2012

6 to 10 p.m. at the newly renovated Coppes Commons

Upper Room Event facility – 401 E. Market St., Nappanee, IN

Featuring locally grown food prepared by some of Northern Indiana’s most noted Chefs, including…

Kevin Crouch of Charlie’s Butcher Block and Deli Stephanie Hapner of Crazy Day

Gourmet Steve Helmuth of Rocket Science Ice Cream

Emily Hershberger of Veni’s Sweet Shop

Chase Hinton of Cerulean

Andrew Jones of Viand Chef Services

Pat Knott of Classic Catering / The Old Train Depot

Zach Lucchese of Lucchese’s Renee Lyles of Table 52, The Brown Trout, Chicago, IL

Dustin Mattern of Mattern’s Butcher Shop and Corner Deli

Amy Maurer of Elegance in Thyme (Nelson’s) Karla Miller of Teapot & More

Marcus Miller of Main Street Coffee

Margaret Potuck of Happy Dance Cupcakes

Loren Shaum, Local Chef and Cookbook Author Scott Woods of Noa Noa

Local Farms & Food Providers…

Clay Bottom Farm

Four Rail Farm

Goldwood Gardens

Grass is Greener Meats & Produce

John’s Butcher Shop

Maple Leaf Farms

Martin’s Super Markets

Olive Branch Rentown

Amish Country Store

TICKETS $60 PER PERSON

All proceeds will support Family Christian Development Center which served more than 5,500 families in 2011 through its food pantriy, well-baby programs, clothing ministry and programs in medication and crisis assistance.

Family Christian Development Center
151 South Locke St
Nappanee IN 46550
Phone: (574) 773-2149
Fax: (574) 773-5337
Email: fcdc@fcdcin.org

Office Hours:
Mon-Fri 9am-12pm & 1pm-4pm

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Local Goshen Church gives away free school backpacks, gym shoes and hair cuts

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Backpacks, Brenneman Memorial Missionary Church, Caring, Community, Community Service, Dentistry, Friends, Giving, Goshen, Haircuts, Helping, Missionary Church, Need, Neighbors, Recession, School, School Supplies, Shoes, Volunteer

By AMANDA GRAY/THE GOSHEN NEWS

Brenneman Memorial Missionary Church is helping students in kindergarten through fifth grades get ready for school by giving away 1,000 backpacks, 500 pairs of gym shoes, free hair cuts and more at the first Back to School Goshen Aug. 4.

Brenneman Memorial Missionary Church, 61115 Ind. 15, Goshen, is hosting the event for Goshen-area school children from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis.

“Everything is free while supplies last,” said Director of Worship Kelli Armentrout.

Along with the gym shoes, canvas-style backpacks and school supplies giveaway, the day will include free lunch for all attendees, basic hair cuts, a car wash with fluid and tire checks, child safety seat inspections, a dental education booth with free dental supplies and a mini social services fair. There will also be a bouncey house to play in and drawings for gift cards throughout the day.

The shoes, backpacks, haircuts and dental station are only for children in grades K -5, Armentrout said. But younger children will be able to use the bouncey house and lunch is available to everyone.

Continue reading HERE.

For more information call 574-534-1491.

Saturday night: ‘Elkhart Memorial grad to hold concert, food drive to benefit Church Community Services’

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Caring, Church Community Services, Civic Engagement, Civic Service, Community Activism, Community Service, David Phelps, Elkhart County Indiana, Food bank, Friends, Helping, Josh Groban, Neighbors, Paxton Manly, Saturday, Volunteer, Volunteering

The county fair may wind down this weekend, but the music scene won’t, and all a fantastic show will cost you is a canned good.

A recent Memorial High School graduate, Paxton Manly will perform in his third annual concert/food drive to benefit Church Community Services (CCS) Saturday, July 28 at 7:00 p.m. The concert will be at the First Baptist Church, 53953 C.R. 17, Bristol (on the edge of Elkhart in the Six Span Bridge area). Manly offers a night of live music entertainment covering artists including Josh Groban, Michael Buble, Coldplay, U2, The Beatles, David Phelps, the Gaith Vocal Band and many more.

Your admission price? A non-perishable food item or monetary donation to CCS.

An interview of the Food Services Director, Mary Kneller, about the services CCS offers, as well as interviews of food pantry clients about their experiences.

Information from

• Elkhart Memorial grad to hold concert, food drive to benefit Church Community Services (etruth.com)

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Previous Post

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Community, Community Service, Elkhart County Indiana, Food Pantry, Neighbors, Volunteer

Church Community Services News

For the fourth year in a row, the Elkhart, Indiana, Texas Roadhouse has put on a campaign called Headlock on Hunger to raise funds for the work of Church Community Services. Headlock on Hunger this year offered a golf outing, as well as an upcoming volleyball tournament, the opportunity to donate food or money, and a day of family fun with a wrestling show.  The variety of events allows  the community to have lots of opportunities to give hope to their neighbors and have a good time all at once. All proceeds from all events benefit Church Community Service’s food pantry.

• Saturday, July 7: Armadillo Beach Volleyball Classic at Rivals Sports Den at 11 AM. Sign-up by July 5th.
  -Cost/Entry Fees: $150 per team (Sign-up today! Only $125 for the first 20 teams)                                                                                                                          -Team guidelines: 3 guy limit on a team with a 6 player maximum.
  -CASH grand PRIZE!

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