Oakland (NE) Food Bank a Growing Success Story

OAKLAND, NE (January 21, 2004) - "There's no way you're gonna get rid of all of that food."

A parishioner at a recent Saturday morning food pantry distribution at Salem Evangelical Covenant Church couldn't believe the amount of commodities and other foodstuffs the church had collected for local residents in need, having seen more than three tons of items being set out for distribution.

A few hours later, however, almost all of the food was gone as the church continued a practical ministry that serves between 40 and 75 families on the second Saturday each month in southeast Nebraska.

Three years ago, a parishioner named Wayne Jarvel started the food pantry at Salem Covenant, a congregation of about 120, hoping to help his family and that of a neighbor. He received some initial assistance from another parishioner, Richard Anderson, and the first pantry was no bigger than a walk-in closet.

Nowadays, Salem Covenant needs the entire church basement and a special storage section to house and run the ministry. In fact, the church constructed a special freezer and storage opening to better coordinate its efforts and it received a grant from a non-profit organization in nearby Fremont to help it purchase a trailer to haul the food.

And every creative measure is needed - the ministry helps folks in three counties within 25 miles of the church, supplying free food via USDA commodities and other low-cost items that supplement staple items. Salem Covenant takes the free food and is able to buy items at 16 cents per pound from a Sioux City, Iowa, distribution site. It then distributes the food for a suggested donation of 25 cents per pound - any extra income from sales goes right back into the ministry - with no one turned away because of inability to pay.

A core group of nearly a dozen people, including pastor Steve Hoden, assist the ministry these days. They also include Cheryl Hascall, Galen, Richard and Dwain Heitshusen, Judy Heitshusen, Willie and Bob Jamison and Deb Bonsall (all but Hascall are pictured in the accompanying photo). Hoden said that the core has become like a ministry small group at the church, with people living in a handful of communities some 15 to 20 miles from each other. They select food online on a Monday night after meeting for dinner. Heitshusen drives the truck and the group picks the food up from Sioux City (55 miles away) and unloads it at the church during a six-hour stretch on Thursday. They sometimes get help unloading from the church youth group.

On Saturday, Salem Covenant coordinates the Saturday morning food distribution activities from the church's basement, getting help from the church youth, seniors, and parishioners from other local churches. Those from age 6 to 78 are helping their neighbors and Salem's food pantry has even helped a ministry in Reynosa, Mexico, by sending cereals and some specialty items via a recent mission trip. Those who help with the food pantry say that they're getting blessed as much as those they minister to.

"People don't know what it's like until they do it but then they get hooked," said Willie Jamison. Added Hoden, "The food ministry was one of the things that attracted us to this church and for those who are working with it, it's turned into their niche at the church."

Like many rural areas, poverty has hit Burt, Dodge and Cuming counties near Salem Covenant. That has forced hundreds of people to the church in recent months. But the pinch has also forced some parishioners to use the supplementary assistance of low-cost items too. Given that 20 percent of food sold in the United States goes unused or gets wasted, the church wants no one to go hungry if they can help.

"Before, some of our parishioners were just looking at the items," said Jamison. "Now some of them are purchasing them.

Salem Covenant has tried to find other ways to do ministry through the food pantry. Sometimes, parishioners will donate fruits and vegetables they've grown in their gardens. In December, when 73 families (totaling more than 250 people) came to the pantry, the church gave out free cookbooks whose recipes came from parishioners

Bonsall, the church's part-time youth pastor, knows about the needs of this region as she has served in a number of social service ministries regionally. She's glad that the food pantry can be a practical way to help her neighbors. "We're out in the country, so people don't feel like they have to come to the middle of town for help," she said. "It's a real hard thing to say that your family needs help. But the need has become larger here and I know one lady came by the line (recently) and said, "You are my grocery store."

To learn more about Salem Evangelical Covenant Church and its ministries, call Hoden at 402-685-6111. For more information about the local food bank, visit www.1foodbank.org.

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