wfn.org | Feeding the Multitude

[owner-umethnews@ecunet.org]

"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3538 notes).

Note 3534 by UMNS on April 3, 1997 at 16:04 Eastern (2623 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Ralph E. Baker                          180(10-71B){3534}
          Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470            April 3, 1997

Backyard fruit helps feed multitudes
in Appalachia, New York City

                 by United Methodist News Service

     On Feb. 17, a semi-trailer loaded with citrus was welcomed by
a police escort as it approached its destination in Western
Virginia.
     The truck carried more than 29,000 pounds of eagerly awaited
Florida fruit gleaned from backyards of United Methodists in the
Melbourne and Fort Meyers districts. Much of it would have gone
uneaten if it had not been shipped to feed hungry people in
Appalachia.
     Within a day and a half after its arrival in Virginia the
semi-trailer was emptied.  Every orange, every grapefruit had been
given away.
     It all was part of an effort coordinated by the Society of
St. Andrew, a national relief organization supported by the United
Methodist Church and several other groups and denominations.
     Although the fruit collection got off to a slow start, "by
the end of the day we had close to seven bins over what we
needed," said Jerry Nichols, the society's Florida program
director.  The nearly 12,000 pounds of surplus citrus was given to
feeding organizations in Florida, he said.
     Citrus fruit is hard to give away in Florida, but "not so in
other states," said Nichols. Feeding programs outside Florida
won't pay transportation for things like potatoes, he said, "but
if you mention oranges or grapefruit, they'll pay for the
transportation, no questions asked."
     In March, the Society of St. Andrew collected citrus during a
one-day event in West Palm Beach, Fla., for a Christian children's
ministry in the ghettos of New York City.  
     Nichols said the shipments to Appalachia and New York were
unique because the fruit came from people's backyards. "It shows
the bounty that's out there, and that is just the tip of the
iceberg."
     Next year, organizers want to send a semi-trailer of citrus
fruit from each United Methodist district in Florida, according to 
Nichols. "It's like the fish and the loaves situation," he said.
"It looks like it comes out of nowhere, and that's the whole idea
behind the Society of St. Andrew. It's the miracle of feeding
thousands."
                              #  #  #

     * Information for this article came from the Florida
Conference edition of the United Methodist Review.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 To make suggestions or give your comments, send a note to 
 umns@ecunet.org or Susan_Peek@ecunet.org

 To unsubscribe, send the single word "unsubscribe" (no quotes)
 in a mail message to umethnews-request@ecunet.org

-----------------------------------------------------------------------