wfn.org | Local church teams with Kroger to feed working poor

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

March 26, 2002  News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.  10-71BP{131}

NOTE: A photograph is available with this story.

By Cathy Farmer*

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UMNS) - Smoked pork chops, potato salad, roast beef and
pecan pie. Not your usual food pantry fare.

But that's exactly the kind of food Capleville United Methodist Church is
sending weekly to the food pantries at United Methodist Neighborhood Centers
of Memphis and to Reelfoot Rural Ministries, a Memphis Annual Conference
outreach program to Northwest Tennessee.

"Our clients are totally delighted," says Ellen Peete, Neighborhood Centers
director. "The families who come to our inner-city centers at Tillman and
Frayser are mostly the working poor, people who live right on the line.
These are people who have to choose between fixing a tire and buying food
for their children. These are people who don't receive any kind of
assistance from the government.

"Being able to offer them the 'frills,' something besides the more usual
canned tuna fish or beef stew, makes us different," she says. 

The "frills" are luxury items included in the pickup loads of food provided
by Capleville United Methodist Church every week, as the result of a
partnership between the church and its neighboring Kroger grocery store.

The Rev. Edward Walton, Capleville's pastor, says the service provided by
the church wouldn't have been possible without the help of Bruce Ryan,
manager of Kroger Store No. 401, next door to the church.

"He enabled us to reach out beyond our wildest dreams," Walton says.

Ryan says the partnership, known in the Kroger chain as "Adopt-a-Church," is
encouraged by store policy. "We're encouraged to contact a nearby church and
offer assistance," Ryan says. "And we're just glad someone will benefit.
We'd much rather provide sustenance to people who need the food than throw
it away."

Ryan believes quite a few Kroger stores have adopted churches.

"We just decided to help the Capleville church right across the street," he
says. "I'm Catholic myself, but people are people." Ryan estimates that the
store might donate as much as $1,000 to $1,500 worth of food every week.

Jesse Bauer is the church's spark plug behind the project. Marshalling some
of the church's retired men, he's turned the food pantry into a food bank
that keeps Reelfoot Rural Ministries and Neighborhood Centers supplied.

"And we don't send just food," Bauer says. "Our congregation gathers clothes
and household goods as well."

Bauer and his team, Charles Yates, Jim Smith, Ronnie Crook, Len Bridges and
Jack Carasso, work four days a week picking up food from Kroger, sorting
donations and loading trucks.

"Everyone works at least two to three days a week," Bauer explains, "and
we're all senior citizens." Two of the men are 60, and the rest are in their
70s - except for Bauer. "I'm 80," he says. 

Recently, the church's Disciples Sunday School class took over picking up
food at Kroger on Saturdays. "They're younger, somewhere between 40 and 60,"
Bauer says.

The food donated by Kroger is perfectly edible, but sometimes it's about to
go out of date, the can might have a torn label or the box could be less
than perfect.

"Just the other day, I picked up some hams and pork tenders and smoked pork
chops," Bauer says. "Expensive stuff. Stuff many of the people we're helping
would never even think about buying."

When Kroger has a load ready to go, Lisa Limbacher, the deli manager, or
Billy Murphy, the meat manager, calls the church and tells the men to pick
it up. Bauer says it could be as much as two or three pickup loads. His team
arrives at the store by 9:30 a.m. and has the food to the church by 10:30.

"Every week, by 10:30, trucks come from Tillman and from Frayser to get the
food," Bauer says. Tillman picks up on Mondays and Fridays. Frayser comes on
Tuesdays. 
Every third month, Reelfoot Rural Ministries sends its big white truck down
from Obion County to load up with delicacies, clothing and household goods.

"One time I accidentally sent a pie to Reelfoot," Bauer says, "so I called
Dale Mills, the director, to apologize. He said they loved it and had
already eaten it! So since then, we freeze pies and send them as well."

On one occasion, the Capleville team sent 80 pies to Reelfoot. Mills
delivered 60 of them to his homebound clients that same evening.

"God's blessed us," Bauer says. "We have two freezers and a refrigerator,
all donated. We have to freeze the meat when we get it, and we need coolers
to transport it in. When I told the congregation one Sunday that we had to
have coolers, five came in that day plus $180 to buy the rest we needed."

Bauer and his team never see the people they help, but they don't need to.
"We know we're helping people, and that's enough," he explains. "I intend to
do this as long as I'm able."

Capleville's congregation is solidly behind the effort. While Kroger
provides a great deal of food, the church maintains a "Food Pantry Fund."
Donations are made every Sunday, and Bauer uses the money to buy items
requested by Reelfoot and Neighborhood Centers.

"I call them to see what they need," he says. "Reelfoot sometimes orders
soap, bleach, Pampers, baby food. I don't buy stuff at the store just
because it's on sale. I get what they really need." He spends between $200
and $300 every month.

In the two years since Capleville began the project, the members have more
than doubled the amount of food and other items they've given away. In the
year 2000, they provided 52,000 items. In 2001, more than 137,000.

"That will be hard to top," Bauer admits.

Peete says the donations get better and better. 

"It means so much to our people," she says. "When they take home a sack from
our food pantries, it's just like a sack of groceries anyone else would
have. It's a God-send."

More information is available by calling Bauer at (901) 363-0629.
# # #
* Farmer is communications director of the United Methodist Church's Memphis
Annual Conference. This story originally appeared in the conference edition
of the United Methodist Reporter.

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
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