FFCC Logo  
May 9, 2012
             FOOD PACKAGING EVENT UPDATES  
 
FFCC's 35th Food Packaging Event, A Day of Firsts!
Over 150,000 Meals Packaged at Grace Point Church on April 29th!

Grace Point Church is not a new partner to FFCC. They have served with us at our Homeless Outreach at the Salvation Army. They also provide the space & volunteer support for our food pantry, so together we can care for our local families who need assistance. But Sunday April 29th, was the first time Grace Point Church ever hosted a food packaging event. It was the first time FFCC ever packaged food for needy families in Honduras. It was the first time FFCC had ever had one of the international recipients of our Fight Against Hunger meals attend a food packaging event (Mama Lynn Elliott from Tanzania Africa) & it was the first time our community had ever packed 150,000 meals in only 4 hours! It was an incredible day! Thank you, Grace Point Church, for expanding our work & for being such gracious hosts. We hope this will be the first of many more events together and we look forward to many more partnership opportunities!


ATTENTION SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY! If you belong to a church, business, or organization that would like to partner with FFCC to further this food packaging work, contact Phil Harris (
[email protected]) or Tina Socha ([email protected]).     
 


DON'T FORGET! Your donations make a difference! At 25 cents/meal, $20 provides 80 meals to hungry people here in North County and around the world!
 Click here to calculate how many meals your planned donation can provide!

 


 
MAMA LYNN'S VISIT TO SAN DIEGO

Mama Lynn Elliott is the founder of Light In Africa, a children's home located near Moshi, Tanzania. She feeds her 256 children our Fight Against Hunger meals each day. In addition, she operates a food kitchen in the mining town of Mirerani for the poor and destitute who live there.

 

Until this recent visit to San Diego, Mama Lynn had never seen a FFCC Fight Against Hunger Food Packaging Event. She said she had tried to imagine several times how all these meals were put together by our community, but could never really wrap her brain around it. Mama Lynn attended the Grace Point Church food packaging event on April 29th. She said she was completely overwhelmed to see the number of volunteers that came together to make this incredible work happen.

 

While Mama Lynn was here in San Diego, she had the opportunity to share stories of how this food is saving the lives of so many children. She spoke with the Escondido Kiwanis Club, the Del Norte High School 'Kids In Need' Club, the eighth graders of Grace Lutheran Middle School & at a dinner of FFCC volunteers. She shared stories of children who resort to sucking on pebbles to stimulate the juices in their mouth so as to relieve the pangs of hunger, or those who chew on tree bark but end up with a nasty fungus in their mouth as a result.

 

The meals, that our community packages, are giving these children a hope & a future. Keep Mama Lynn in your thoughts and prayers as she continues to love on so many children. On behalf of Mama Lynn, thank you FFCC community for this life saving work that you support! 

 


MORE QUILTS FOR GUNDA!

Be part of a fun and effective outreach to provide quilts for the students in the Girls' Dormitory at the Gunda School in Nkungi, Tanzania! We have received a request from the FFCC team who returned from Tanzania in February for more quilts for the girls who live in the dormitory. If you have fabric, supplies, or gift cards to fabric stores to donate, contact Sue Gary at [email protected]  or 760-741-9975. 

 

Attention All Quilters! About 2 years ago, we completed 125 quilts to provide for all the girls who live in the new dormitory. Stay tuned because we will be having our get-together quilting groups as soon as we receive donations of fabric and quilting supplies.  

 


LOCAL NEIGHBOR NEEDS    
Our newest partner, Albertsons grocery store in Rancho Penasquitos, donated approximately 4500 lbs of fresh food to FFCC in April, which was delivered to local families and individuals who lack adequate food resources. We are also abundantly blessed as we continue to work with the Backyard Produce Project, which contributed another 4400 lbs of produce in April for FFCC to distribute. Many thanks to the dozens of volunteers that make these projects successful, especially Karen Anderson, Ruthanna Bryan, Sharon Foley, Deborah Hall, Carole Morton, Heidi and Rebecca Olson, Bonita and Mathyou Perrault, and Jane Radatz.  If you are interested in getting involved in this type of outreach effort, please contact Becky at [email protected] to volunteer.
 
                            ------------------------------------------------------
 
Thank you to all who recently donated food to help restock the FFCC Food Pantry, located at Grace Point Church. Thank you to Congetta Gregg and Marjolein Grootenhuis for all their support and administrative mastery of the food pantry. With summer break coming up, many families will be strained to provide more food for children at home. Your continued donations are greatly appreciated! We have a long way to go to fill the shelves and serve all those who need this food, so thank you for all your support!

Please let us know where you may be able to partner with us!

Thank you for helping FFCC serve our neighbors
here in North County San Diego! 
 
  helping hand

 


CARING FOR OUR LOW-INCOME ADULT SENIORS
Each month a team of FFCC volunteers travel downtown to provide smiles and support to our low income adult seniors. By the end of the month, the small amount of social security funds these seniors receive is gone. On the 4th Tuesday morning of each month, FFCC partners with the San Diego Food Bank to provide and distribute hundreds of food commodity boxes. With no money to purchase food and hygiene items, these food boxes become the lifeline that holds them over until the first of the month.
 
FFCC's primary function is to help make these distributions as pleasant as possible for the recipients, some of whom arrive early and stand in line for several hours awaiting the box distribution. Our volunteers greet, chat with, and become a cheerful part of these seniors' lives.
 
We try to make these monthly excursions a time to be enjoyed by all! Our volunteers also serve coffee, pastries (a gracious monthly donation by Panera Bakery), and other refreshments. FFCC also provides 6-serving meals from our local food packing events to add to their commodity boxes. We consider it a true blessing to help provide resources and compassion for these local seniors.  ~ Janice McKalson
                           ----------------------------
FFCC would like to thank Janice, Ted, and the rest of the team for their faithful service and all joy that they pour out each month on our seniors. If you would like to join the Adult Senior Outreach team or would like more information please contact Janice at [email protected] 
 

 


In This Issue
Mama Lynn's Visit
Quilts for Gunda
Local Neighbor Needs
Local Senior Outreach
Donate
Any food can find
You make a difference!
Thank you so much for your gifts of time, talent, and financial support!
  
 
Quick Links

Did someone forward this eNewsletter to you?


Upcoming Events at a Glance  

Click here to view a calendar of FFCC Food Packaging Events for 2012 

 

Food Packaging Coordinator Meeting                                                       May 14      6:30pm

Haiti Trip #11 (August 2012) Team Meeting                                                May 15      6:30pm
Contact Tina Socha ([email protected]) if you would like info about joining the team.

Azusa Pacific University's Tanzania Team #1                                            May 16 - June 16
(This team is working with FFCC on projects in Tanzania)  

 

FFCC Senior Outreach                                                                              May 22     9am-Noon

Location: Salvation Army, 825 7th Avenue, San Diego 92101

300,000 FFCC Fight Against Hunger meals arrive in Haiti                          May 23

Tanzania Trip #12 (June/July 2012) Family Potluck Dinner                        May 27     5:00pm

FFCC's 36th FPE, Sponsored by Creekside Elementary (private event)      June 1  

 

FFCC Homeless Outreach                                                                         June 4     6:00pm

Location: Salvation Army, 825 7th Avenue, San Diego 92101

  

===================================================================

UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL DATES (2011-2013) 

Tanzania Trip #12 June/July 2012                                  June 18-July 3, 2012

Tanzania Trip #13 Azusa Pacific University                    May 16-August 3, 2012 (Teams #1 & #2)

Haiti Trip #11 August 2012                                             August 10-August 18, 2012

Haiti Trip #12 November 2012                                        November 10-November 18, 2012

Tanzania Trip #14 February/March 2013                          February 15-March 4, 2013

 

For information regarding traveling with FFCC, please contact Tina Socha at [email protected]

.

Contact Information
FFCC Director
Phil Harris
Friends & Family Community Connection
12463 Rancho Bernardo Road, PMB 158
San Diego, California  92128
858-204-9643,
Nonprofit 501(c)3, Federal Tax Identification 75-3057954