Food Assistance

Bethesda Food Pantry

We opened our doors for Food for Lane County in April 2010 for twice monthly distribution of food and other basic necessities. We primarily staff distribution with our own volunteers, but are happy to welcome volunteers from outside Bethesda. The number of family members served has grown from 52 the first month to 556 in March 2012. This reflects the unfortunate reality of our local economy and reaffirms the great need for faith to express itself in loving service.

The following items are very beneficial to our clients, but are scarcely available from Food for Lane County:

Tomato Sauce
Spaghetti Sauce
Tuna Fish
Canola Oil

Toilet Paper
Toothpaste
Shampoo
Bonus: Cat & Dog food

Donations can be brought during church office hours in containers convenient for transferring to the appropriate storage location.

This Institution is an equal-opportunity employer and provider.

Food Pantry Distribution

We distribute on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month, from 9:30am – 12:00pm, first come, first served. We need help to set-up and distribute food. Set up is the day before at 12:00pm and distribution begins at 9:30am.

Emergency Food Closet

Bethesda’s office staff operates the Emergency Food Closet during office hours, Monday – Friday, 9:00 – 3:00pm. There are a variety of non-perishable food items available.

Little Sprouts

The goal of our Little Sprouts program is to send a Snack Pack home on the weekend with each child in Malabon, Danebo, and Clear Lake Elementary Schools, specifically those at risk for hunger. There are 125 students between these three schools.

Each Little Sprouts Snack Pack includes individual servings of:

Applesauce
Pudding
Oatmeal
Crackers

Raisins
Mac & Cheese
Juice Box
Granola

To send Little Sprouts Snack Packs home with each child for the school year, it will cost $100 per child. This is where you come in! Please consider making a one time donation to the program. Consider sponsoring a child, giving $100 at one time or a monthly donation of $10 over the school year. You can pair with another family (or several) to sponsor a child. We will collect donations and pledges until all 125 kids are funded.

Last year, literally hundreds of snack packs were passed out to children at our local schools. Every Friday, 96 children were given a bag full of food to fill their tummies over the weekend. Thanks to your incredible donations, Bethesda was able to support 60 students at Malabon, Clear Lake, and Danebo, while an additional 36 students were supported at Irving by their PTO.

We would absolutely love for this program to not only continue, but to be expanded to include even more children. Feeding one child for a school year costs about $100. If you are feeling the nudging of the Spirit, Little Sprouts would welcome any size donation, so that the children in our area could focus more on being a kid, than worrying about where their next meal is coming from. Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support for this vital community ministry. If you have any questions, please talk to Kay Kirkpatrick.

View More Service Projects