Feeding the Hungry is the year-round ministry of St. I am handing out food.
“While we do food rations on Thanksgiving and Christmas, our pantry is ministering 365 days a year, seven days a week,” St. Matthew’s Church pastor, Reverend James Bruno, said on Tuesday. said.
Many people were waiting in line when church volunteers began distributing them on December 17.
“There were so many cars lined up and some people were sitting in front of the church waiting,” said Bruno.
“After the initial rush, two or three people kept coming in,” he said. In all, about 50 people served at the church’s Christmas distribution event.
To keep the pantry stocked, the church is working with the Project Hope Food Bank in Hot Springs and accepting donations from the public, Bruno said.
St. Matthew’s has a small pantry on campus where people keep non-perishable groceries and personal items so that those in need can always stop by and pick up what they need.
“Pantry is named after longtime member James Mattox, who passed away in 2020,” said Bruno.
Mattocks cared for those in need and was a strong supporter of this pantry.
“He didn’t drive, but we had people drive him to the store so he could buy groceries for the pantry,” Bruno said. It was very important to him to have
Churches sometimes present perishables offering items such as milk, meat, eggs, and cheese in coolers by the pantry. These events will be announced on the church’s web page stmatthewsbenton.com and on Facebook, and the community will be aware of the distribution.
The church also put out some fresh produce over the weekend due to the cooler temperatures.
“At two degrees you can put perishables in the pantry, it’s colder than any refrigerator,” Bruno said with a laugh.
According to Bruno, anyone can donate a stable supply of food or money to the pantry, regardless of whether they are members of St. Matthew. but I know they have nothing to do with the church.”
On December 17th, an organization called CJCOHN (Churches Joint Council on Human Needs) also distributed food.
According to the organization’s Facebook page, CJCOHN is a non-profit organization of 15 saline churches providing food, clothing and other needs, and Christmas baskets were distributed on the same day St. Matthew’s Church made the distribution. has been held.
“We had a little competition with CJCOHN and it was good competition,” said Bruno.
The pantry is a popular ministry in St. Matthew’s congregation because it is a concrete example of good work that people can see.
Bruno said, “It’s a wonderful expression of loving your neighbor.