Food Share
What is Food Share:
Although our world is becoming more divisive and senior adults in need are feeling more isolated, Food Share is uniting people in our community. This program intertwines the efforts of The Giving Garden, AUMC, and Metrocrest Services to let senior adults in need in our community know that they are not forgotten. Volunteers deliver nutritious food and also take the time to help, encourage, and care. We are befriending people we would never otherwise have the opportunity to meet and we are building bridges to connect with one another. Age, race, religion, gender, and capability do not factor into this program because Food Share is simply neighbors caring about neighbors – for over three decades!
Metrocrest Services provides Food Share with the contact information for 25 Carrollton (and Farmers Branch) senior adults who are in great need. It also packages meats, produce, canned goods, and health & beauty aids for Food Share volunteers to pick up the day before delivery. Food Share volunteers combine this food with additional groceries that it collects, purchases, and stores. Once a month, Food Share volunteers sort and then deliver groceries to the doorstep of these senior adults and their families. That amounts to 300 deliveries per year, an effort which requires volunteer support and enthusiasm in all weather conditions.
Food Share was established in 1994 and has never missed a monthly delivery, including throughout the pandemic when home delivery was more important than ever. Food Share fills the gap to ensure that senior adults can eat nutritiously until their next Social Security check arrives. This ministry, however, is more than a grocery delivery service: we have made connections and new friends; we have taught our children by example the importance of caring for our neighbors; we have become recognizable friends who visit every month; we perform minor repairs or chores for homeowners; we speak different languages but learn to communicate with one another; we share time, smiles, and hugs that will live in our hearts forever.
Volunteer:
Opportunities are available each month and volunteers may choose to fill delivery bags and/or deliver groceries to senior adults. This program is a service to our community so community volunteers as well as church members are welcome to volunteer. For more information and to learn about the volunteer responsibilities, send an email to: office@aldersgatecarrollton.org.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
— Matthew 25:31-40