#Volunteer Spotlight : Harvest Food Pantry - @VCCE
One of the newest entries to this series of incredible organization comes from a small Christian Church in Evanston called the Vineyard. They have a newer ministry called the Harvest Food Pantry that fills an incredible need. There are so many agencies and organizations supporting Chicago, but once you start to move farther from the city, the number of charitable organizations drops - even though the need for support remains.
Harvest distributes bagged groceries to families in need. Pretty simple.
Harvest opened in January 2005 serving a handful of families every week. In the past decade, the outreach has grown and now serves over 250 families each week. In addition to groceries, Harvest also has a clothes closet, provides social supports and a care center that gives advice and guidance on everything from renting an apartment to finding a job.
I have had the pleasure of serving at Harvest for over a year - it’s become part of every Wednesday night for me. They never turn away someone in need and will give food to anyone who shows up. There have been nights when we’ve seen 300+ families come...and the entire team stays late into the night to make sure everyone gets food.
The stories of elderly couples that can’t make ends meet, a family with a child needing expensive medical care or just a guy down on his luck are common. Sometimes all it takes is a bag of groceries, a gently used coat and a smile to help show people that there is hope, and Harvest serves up this hope in heaps.