Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. -- Desmond Tutu

Most of us take for granted that there will be food on the table every day; however, one out of every five Pennsylvania households with children food struggle with food hardship. In fact, the Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center reports that more than 663,000 children in this state are food insecure.

None of us likes to think that children go to bed hungry in our communities, or that hungry children face serious developmental, health, and educational deficits, but this is the reality. In the midst of central Pennsylvania's agricultural abundance, far too many children depend on free or reduced-price school lunches and breakfasts for nutrition. When those meals are not available, they go hungry in this land of plenty.

Lower Susquehanna Lutherans across our synod are working to reduce hunger in many ways, some targeting hungry children and food-insecure students. It's part of Jesus' call to love our neighbor, to care for those on the margins, and to preach the gospel with our hands, feet, and hearts. Together our "little bits of good" are taking a big bite out of hunger in our communities.

Backpacks Filled with Food and Hope

Ruth's Harvest Backpack display at St. Mark's, Hanover

For children who are food insecure, weekends and holidays can times of increased stress and hunger. Ruth's Harvest, an ecumenical ministry of the Hanover Area Council of Churches (HACC), is addressing this need by sending home backpacks filled with healthy, easy-to-prepare meals and snacks for low income children in the Hanover Area Public Schools.

Thirteen Hanover-area Lutheran churches and one worshiping community participate (Christ Lutheran [Roth's] Mount Carmel Lutheran, St. Bartholomew United Church, ELCA, St. David Lutheran, St. Jacob Lutheran [Glen Rock], St. John's Lutheran [Abbottstown], St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran,, St. Matthew Lutheran, St. Paul Dubs Lutheran, St. Paul Lutheran [Broadway], St. Paul Lutheran [York Street], Trinity Lutheran, Zion United Lutheran [Schaffer's], and the Faith Community of the Utz Lutheran Village), along with other HACC member churches, partner with the school system to meet this important need.

The idea for the ministry came through the Rev. Kathryn Schroeder (St. Matthew, Hanover), who discovered through conversations with a local elementary school teacher that children were returning to school hungry after the weekends. The injustice of the situation concerned and frustrated the teacher and motivated Pastor Kate to look for a solution. From this conversation, and rooted in the Biblical story of Ruth, Ruth's Harvest was born with a $5,000 grant awarded to St. Matthew from the Community Aid organization. The program framework, complete with funding, was then presented to the Hanover Area Council of Churches as a community project.

Volunteers pack backpacks for Ruth's Harvest

"The outpouring of support through time, talent and treasure has been tremendous," says Pastor Kate. "The program's continued success is heavily dependent upon the people of Hanover who are demonstrating God's love in our community."

By September 2013, 55 children enrolled at the Hanover Street Elementary School were taking home backpacks filled with healthy, nutritious non-perishable items-enough good food to provide seven small weekend meals. Items filling the backpacks might include fruit roll-ups, breakfast bars, oatmeal, juice, tuna lunch kits, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter crackers, soup, applesauce, ravioli, soup, vegetables, milk, and other healthy food items. Children return the empty backpacks on Monday, and volunteers restock and deliver them back to the school on Friday. To date, over 15,000 single-serving items of food have been given to the children, and in September, the program is scheduled to expand in order to serve all three Hanover elementary schools.

Program coordinators Hazel George and Claudia Hudson anticipate the number of students to multiply, so additional support and involvement is always needed to help accommodate the every growing need. If you, or your congregation, would like to contribute food, time, or monetary support to Ruth's Harvest, contact Carol Hinkle, Hanover Area Council of Churches Operations Manager, at 633-6353. Or, if you would like to set up a similar program in your own community and need some insight, contact Pastor Kate at 637-7101.

Campus Cupboard Helps Bridge the Gap

Many people equate college hunger with packages of Raman noodles and skimping on the food budget to augment dollars for entertainment and libation. Unfortunately, this is not the case for a growing number of students pursuing college degrees. Pastor Constance Mentzer and the congregation of St. Paul in Millersville are working with other local congregations to support the "Campus Cupboard" food pantry at Millersville University through United Campus Ministry.

The Campus Cupboard is making a real difference for hungry students at Millersville.

"It was kind of a shock for us," said Pastor Constance Mentzer, "to discover how many students are looking for ways to cut corners on the high cost of education. The food plan is usually the first thing to go, and there simply aren't any other on-campus options to meet the needs of these students."

The Campus Cupboard is open on Fridays and is staffed by adult volunteers from local congregations and the Campus Ministry Board, but students from the United Campus Ministry are primarily responsible for the effort. Students are welcomed to the Cupboard and allowed to choose what they want and need from a predetermined list of items. In addition to donating food items, monetary donations are maximized through partnership with the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. This means that every dollar donated can purchase about $15 of food to supplement the needs of hungry college students.

"As a congregation, it really touches our hearts and makes us deeply sad that these kids are in this position," added Mentzer. "The good news is that we're able to help and make a difference-and the students appreciate it."

St. Paul (Millersville) Lutherans

In an age of shrinking mainline membership and tightened budgets, St. Paul took a step in faith and included a rather daring line item to support this campus ministry program and the Campus Cupboard. "Not only did we meet our goal," said Mentzer, "the giving actually exceeded it."

Additionally, the congregation extends a warm welcome and provides a place for students to call their faith-home-away-from-home. "We have seen an increase in participation by Millersville students, and the congregation enjoys the opportunity to get to know and share life with these young people," Mentzer added.

Feeding hungry students "one dollar and can at a time" allows the congregation of St. Paul Lutheran to live out their faith while making a real difference in the lives of young people-feeding others as they have been fed by Christ.

Summer Lunch Provides Added Food Security

Both Immanuel Lutheran in Williamstown, served by the Rev. Kathleen Kuehl, and St David Lutheran in Hanover, served by the Rev. Ladonna Thomas, feed hungry children during the summer months when free and reduced-price school meals are not an option. Immanuel provides a free lunch and activities once a week for some 20 local youth. St. David's Lutheran works with ecumenical partners to serve nutritious summer meals for students from Manheim and West Manheim Elementary schools who participate in the free or reduced-price lunch program during the school year. Summer meals provided by these congregations help ensure at-risk children receive better nutrition when school is not in session and serve up a heaping helping of God's love in the process.

____________________________

Note: Our Synod's World Hunger Committee recently conducted a survey of congregations to determine what kinds of hunger ministries congregations are engaged in and/or supporting. Responses were received from 77 congregations, and the variety and breadth of ministries is truly amazing. Look for more ministry highlights in the remaining weeks of Advent and throughout 2014. If your congregation is engaged in a ministry and you didn't yet respond to the survey, please share information with us. Contact either Cheryl Burns at cherylsburns@gmail.com or Pastor Sharron Blezard at sblezard@lss-elca.org.