It’s been a while since we’ve sent an update about UUCF’s food ministry, led by the Food Crisis Team. First, I wish to express deep gratitude for the care, hard work and sacrifice that have gone into making this an impactful project during the challenging pandemic period. As social justice coordinator, the central question of my work is: What do these times call us to do? I am deeply grateful for UUCF answering the call. What we do to be of service is transformative spiritual work to become, through action, the people we are called to be.
UUCF held its first food drive in May. After collecting a whopping 3,000 pounds of groceries worth more than $8,000 (including money donations) we were so enthused to keep this work going. We formed the Food Crisis Team to lead the effort, and our main project has been continuing the monthly food drives. We have also done additional fundraising, supported advocacy efforts around hunger, developed ways to make our collections more efficient, encouraged volunteering with our partners who deliver the food, and we’ve done a great deal of work building connections with local community groups.
Partnerships are crucial for grassroots social justice work. The power of the grassroots, the power of the people, is really the power of partnerships united for a common cause. When our work addresses the most deeply motivating needs of our time, like hunger and the economic struggles of the pandemic, people are eager to work together.
For our Mar. 14 food drive, we are so excited that the Burke/Fairfax chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America has decided to work with us as a community partner. We’ve launched this relationship with advocacy efforts both local and national. Moms Demand Action volunteers will also help collect donations at the March and April food drives! At the March drive we’re also partnering with Fairfax Circle Church and their efforts to collect baby supplies, which are high-demand items, often harder to obtain than food.
Partnerships build power. Partnerships are also spiritually transformative because we learn through the relationships we form. Just think about the people in your life who have made you who you are. One of the most exciting parts about working with Moms Demand Action is their intersectional approach to their work. They formed around gun violence prevention, but also work for racial justice, women’s rights and generally supporting the needs of the community. Our grassroots work and their grassroots work both depend on partnership around our common values.
A quick mention of the numbers. UUCF’s 10 food drives have collected an estimated 28,670 pounds of food. Including food drives, direct money donations and gift card donations, the UUCF community has raised an estimated $64,355. In January alone, with the Martin Luther King Weekend of Service, the drive brought in around 7,200 pounds of food that filled the Sanctuary and was carried out in 12 carloads. Twenty-six families helped to re-package low-cost bulk rice and beans, which allowed more recipient families access to this donated food. About 40 UUCF members signed up to work with Prince William Food Rescue’s pilot project in Vienna that recruits volunteers to deliver would-be discarded food from grocery stores and delivers it to food pantries.
The crisis continues but I hope we can find fulfillment and transformation in these good works. For the Mar. 14 food and baby supply drive, if you wish to donate, sign up here. If you wish to volunteer, sign up here. If you have any questions or would like to get involved with the Food Crisis Team please contact me. Thank you all. I look forward to much more beautiful work together.
Leave a Reply