#GIVING TUESDAY is Coming!
St. Peter’s Episcopal in Port Royal Virginia is encouraging support for St. Peter’s Village Harvest during #Giving Tuesday, November 28, 2017. November is the 3-year anniversary for this program. Giving Tuesday is an international day of giving after “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” to support non-profits in our local community.
The Village Harvest is our monthly food ministry, focusing on distributing fresh food to the community. We introduced the Village Harvest as a response to the increasing costs of food and to ease some of the financial strain of those in our community. We set it up market style to bring the food to them and allowing them to shop and take what is needed.
Since the beginnings in Nov. 2014, we have increased those served from 60 to 171 a month and the number of pounds distributed from 300 to over 1600 pounds on the third Wednesday of each month. The community we serve has expanded to include not only Caroline and Essex Counties but also Caroline and Westmoreland.
In the past three years, we have included a variety of fruits (pears, apples, blackberries, lemons) and vegetables (onions, potatoes, squash, tomatoes, corn, eggplant, beans, cabbages, peas). We have added other services – luncheons for our clients, recipes to help prepare the foods we distribute and school supplies for the fall. We distribute information about local social services that may help our clients.
Our supplier is the Northern Neck Food Bank for these foods, but our congregation also donates toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex and other paper products since the food bank does not stock these essentials. The congregation works throughout the 3rd Wednesday of each month to make the Village Harvest a reality
Comments have been positive – “This is a real blessing. Thank you for doing this, it really helps us out." and "Having this food means that I can buy something else I really need."
Village Harvest is the best type of ministry – it helps those outside the church who are possibly unemployed, underemployed or having a financial crisis.
It is also a blessing for those doing the work – "Working together we can do infinitely more than separately. " "Doing this work is a privilege", " I see this food distribution as a way to bring our community closer together."
Our Asking on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017 – Help us provide 3 months of support. It’s a bargain!
The ministry costs approximately $160 a month which is approximately $1 a person for an average of 8 pounds of fresh food. Our goal in #Giving Tuesday is to raise 3 months support or $500.
- Your $10 donation would feed 10 people for one Village Harvest and 80 pounds of food.
- A $20 donation would feed 20 people for one Village Harvest with 160 pounds of food.
- Donating $160 puts you and or your organization into the “Village Club” for special recognition since you have covered the food for one Village Harvest.
How to make a donation? Send a check to St. Peter’s Church, P. O. Box 399 Port Royal, Virginia 22535 with #Giving Tuesday in the memo line together with our thanks for your support!