By james art LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – In Lubbock, many children face hunger every day, but the situation becomes more urgent on the weekends.
Calvary Baptist Church has made it its mission to provide food for those in need. The church runs a program that serves hundreds of children, providing them with bagged lunches.
Cory O’Guin, associate pastor of missions and facilities at the church, said the program costs about $1,100 each week, emphasizing the importance of community involvement.
“You know, the crazy thing about us is that we provide over 300 bags a week, but we’ve never met any of the students,” he said. “We don’t know who we give them to. We just felt that God was saying, ‘there are children who need food, help them,’ and so we help them.”
The church currently works with 13 schools. They address the critical issues of food insecurity in the community.
The money comes from church members and donations made by community members.
The church’s initiative aims to support families who struggle to access reliable food, especially as the holiday season approaches. With growing demand, the need for community support is ever-increasing.
“This money is coming from people, and I don’t even know who they are. I just know every week when I go to buy the food that the money is there,” OGuinn said. “And as it gets bigger and as we continue to add more schools, that’s when we know we’re probably going to have to start looking for outside help.”
OGuinn said it’s also something the kids will carry with them throughout their lives and education.
He encourages anyone who wants to get involved to contact the church. They are currently looking for donations, sponsorships and overall support to feed the children.
“We want to make sure that as many children as we know about get some food because we want those children to learn.” We want them to be able to finish school,” he said. “You know it’s gotten harder and harder over the last few years for families and we just want to be there to meet those needs as best we can.” And that’s our main goal, is just to meet the needs of the students.
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