We had a large number of parishioners working on the Village Harvest in the hottest month of the year, July. They were definitely needed as we set a monthly record of shoppers!
The Village Harvest is our market-style food distribution that we organize once a month. The work to get it ready extends during much of the day.
Cookie and Johnny went early to the Northern Neck Food Bank early in the morning and bought 1,536 pounds of food. Karen, Chris, Helmut and John Gilliland help to unload later in mid- morning. Elizabeth was setting up; we had crackers, can goods, punch, Gatorade, corns, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, toilet paper , seasoning, water and two types of chicken.
The Village Harvest runs from 3:30pm to 5pm on third Wednesday of the month. We had people taking positions as people arrived. Linn and her sister took care of out side; Karen and Sally deal with the potatoes; Helmut and Sally, meat and Johnnie corn. People shop, picking out what they need as in a food store.
61 families picked up food 46 that was on the list and 15 came for the first time that would like to be added to the list. We fed a record 163 people – a watershed, since this ministry began in Nov., 2014. Thanks for Andrea for keeping notes and reporting totals. Here is our monthly stats in 2017:
For the first seven months of 2017, we have fed an average of 142 people compared to 108 for the same period in 2016, a growth of 32%. A total of 995 people have been provided fresh vegetables, meat and other supplies through July compared to 753 for the first 7 months of 2016.
The Village Harvest is like a second much larger congregation for St. Peter’s with an increasing number of parishioners working to contribute food, buy food, unload it, set it up. We then draw the rest of congregation from shoppers from 4 counties – Caroline, King George, Essex and Westmoreland as well as the village of Port Royal. It is definitely a feast day for all!