This wonderful mission began in 2003, when Gary McCallister, Sherri French, the Loving Office Volunteers and a few others distributed some bags of food from the church office. Thanks to all of you, we are better equipped today to assist folks in need.   In 2007 we provided groceries for 18,800 meals; in 2008, 27,185; in 2009, 31,182.

Society of St. Stephen Reports Early 2010 Services

Gifts of Food or Money Always Appreciated at Society of St. Stephen

The success of Trinity United Methodist Church's outreach mission, Society of St. Stephen, is facilitated in part by membership in Three Square and by selection as a distributing pantry for the Nevada State Food Distribution Program. Three Square is but one of two Feeding America food banks in Nevada. Trinity UMC is an "agency partner" of Three Square, and as one of over 100 recognized food pantries in Las Vegas, Society of St. Stephen is able to purchase many food items from Three Square at low cost. Funding for the Nevada Food Program is provided by the American Recovery Act, which allows selected pantries to receive commodity food free-of-charge. Every other month, food is delivered to Trinity's Society of St. Stephen, one of only seventeen food pantry participants in Clark County.

But in weeks between free food deliveries or in times of less available funding for food purchases, there are days when the St. Stephen food pantry shelves are nearly bare. In the photos below only a few food items are displayed. At the end of April 2010, the increase in clients of St. Stephen rose 19% over the first four months of 2009. Predictably, more individuals and families who no longer can secure sufficient employment are seeking support from neighborhood food pantries.

If you are able to contribute any food or money this summer, please do so by noting St. Stephen on your check's memo line and/or on a contribution envelope. With the ability to purchase some food at less cost from Three Square, a little sometimes buys more. Several examples of foods periodically found at Three Square include:

Actual donations of food items always are very welcome at Soc. of St. Stephen. For example, cereal seldom can be found at Three Square and is not available from NV Food. A box of cereal can be purchased for ninety-nine cents. Other items to enhance cans of meat and create a meal (e.g. Tuna Helper with a can of tuna) usually must be purchased at area grocery stores.

Society of St. Stephen Reaches Out to Community
by Mary Lovelady

St. Stephen Ministry Awarded $1,000 by Fresh&Easy

On October 8^th, 2008 representatives of our Society of St. Stephen Ministry were honored to accept a $1,000 donation from the Fresh&Easy Neighborhood Market during the Grand Opening of a store at Lake Mead and Las Vegas Blvd. As explained on their website, "every time we open a new store, we'll make a $1,000 donation to a local non-profit organization based on suggestions from our neighbors. Shortly before each store opens, anyone can nominate a neighborhood group. People are invited to tell us why the group deserves the donation. The new store's employees will review the neighborhood's comments and choose the organization that best fits with our Fresh&Easy™ values. The donation will be announced at the grand opening ceremony."

During the ceremony in front of the store at 1920 Las Vegas Blvd (North Las Vegas), Manager Michelle Kelley shared with Trinity United Methodist Church members Linda Petty, Earl Pickens, Kathy Beall, and Steve Goldstein that her employees selected entries submitted online by TUMC contributors unanimously on their first round of voting. Michelle described her personal and her team's commitment to community service and how much they were impressed by the effectiveness of the St. Stephen Food Pantry and Helping Hand Up programs in serving our Las Vegas community. Earl Pickens noted that this $1,000 donation will provide 11,000 pounds of food for distribution to hungry and homeless families.