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Local churches unite to feed the hungry

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Volunteers will collect donations May 17

When HighPoint Fellowship Pastor Randy Fenter asked what Christians today think they should be doing to help the world, the answer was clear and definite: feeding the hungry.

The Stomp-Out-Hunger campaign, currently in its third year, was established to do just that. The campaign has brought together five local churches for a large-scale, community-wide food drive that will benefit Hill Country Community Ministries.

The project is a chance for Hill Country residents to support their neighbors in need, said Ron Reynolds, director of the food drive campaign at HighPoint Fellowship.

On Saturday, May 17, Stomp-Out-Hunger volunteers will be going door-to-door to collect donations of food to stock HCCM's Food Pantry.

“We are really fortunate that we have some churches in the community to help us fill our shelves and pantry,” said Sherry McDonnell, HCCM executive director. “We are grateful to the participating churches for their efforts to help us assist families in need.”

Every month, between 300 and 350 families rely on the HCCM Food Pantry, which distributes more than 300,000 pounds of food each year. HCCM, a nonprofit coalition of churches, provides food, clothing and financial assistance to people in crisis and those living in poverty in southwest Williamson and northwest Travis counties.

But the Food Pantry shelves are now nearly empty and HCCM is depending on donations to restock them.

“Basically, we don't have much back-stock at this time, so we're operating off of what comes in the door,” said McDonnell. “That's why the SOH food drive is so important. This is typically a slow time of year for us, as far as the volume of donations - now and through the summer months. The SOH campaign is very critical to us at this time of year.”

“This is an important time of year for HCCM because we're going into summertime, school is out and the school lunch program will no longer be in effect, so there is more need,” said Reynolds.

So volunteers from the five churches and one Girl Scout troop participating in the food drive are collecting food at drop-off sites and will be knocking on doors May 17 to accept donations of nonperishable food items.

The idea to collect food in a door-to-door food drive developed out of an internal spiritual growth campaign at HighPoint Fellowship, said Reynolds. One Saturday, church volunteers knocked on doors and left bags for residents to fill with food donations which would be picked up the following Saturday. “But when we were delivering the bags, lots of people asked, ‘Can you just pick it up now?' So instead of two rounds of door-to-door visits, we are doing just one,” he said.

Each of the five participating Cedar Park churches has a collection area for drop-off food donations: HighPoint Fellowship, Lakeline Church, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Hill Country Nazarene Church, and Victory Baptist Church. (For church addresses, see the shaded box above.)

Currently, campaign volunteers plan to collect food door-to-door in four Cedar Park neighborhoods: Block House Creek, Carriage Hills, Lakeline Ranch and Heritage Park.

But people who live outside of those neighborhoods can also have donations picked up at their door.

“People can contact us through the Stomp-Out-Hunger website or by e-mail, and say, ‘Hey, come pick up food!' and we'll be there,” said Reynolds. “Last year, someone even hosted a food drive in their neighborhood and we came to pick it up.”

To schedule a pick-up at their home or business, Hill Country residents may complete an online form at Stomp-Out-Hunger.org.

Though the main focus of the campaign is to collect nonperishable edibles for HCCM's Food Pantry, volunteers may also pick up clothing for HCCM's Clothes Closet. The Food Pantry also stocks personal care items (like shampoo, soap and toothpaste) as well as baby care supplies (diapers, wipes and formula). For a list of “critical need” items, visit the campaign's website or hccm.org. Volunteers will also be carrying a list of needed items during the door-to-door drive.

“We're also inviting anybody who wants to help to come out and help,” said Reynolds. “We'll be working out of HighPoint Fellowship. Just show up at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 17. We will stop collecting right at noon.”

McDonnell is enthusiastic about the Stomp-Out-Hunger campaign and stressed that the need for food donations continues throughout the year for HCCM. “We have churches, organizations, businesses, schools and scouts that hold food drives for HCCM, and some that collect food items on an ongoing basis. It takes a huge volume of food and at certain times during the year, it's more of a struggle.

“The need is ongoing,” she said. “Food drives are a great group project and they're an easy way to help our neighbors in need. Whether the effort is large or small, it all helps. We even have children who ask guests to bring nonperishable food items to their birthday party, then they donate the items to our Food Pantry. These are most heartwarming.”

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