(no subject)
A truckload of food is being sent to the Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Hattiesburg Mississippi that is a designated shelter, housing a large number of evacuees. They are serving 1800 - 2000 people every day. Myrtle Baptist Church in Newton and First Unitarian Society in Newton have initiated this food drive and are inviting all Newton Houses of Worship and the Newton community to join in this effort.
Mount Carmel Baptist, a large and very active urban church in Hattiesburg (about 50-60 miles north of the coastal areas of Mississippi that were hit so hard by hurricane Katrina). This congregation has a strong history of outreach to the community, especially those in need. They desperately need food for those they are sheltering, and have a hard time keeping up with the demand. Their pastor, the Rev. Kenneth Fairley, told the Rev. Howard Heywood, pastor of Mytrle Baptist Church in Newton that they would greatly appreciate having a truckload of food delivered. The truck has been arranged, and will be leaving Newton for Hattiesberg on Monday morning, September 26. If you and/or your congregation would like to participate, instructions for collecting and drop off of the food are below.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY AND CALL CLAIRE AT CMM IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
1. The truck will be available Friday morning, September 23 and is scheduled to depart Newton early on Mon, September 26
2. Food can be dropped off to the Agape Room at Myrtle from 10am t0 6pm during the week of September 19 or to your own congregations.
3. The designated times for packing, sorting, labeling and loading of the truck will be Friday 9/23, 4-8pm and Saturday 9/24 , 10am-2pm at Myrtle Baptist Church, 21 Curve Street, West Newton.. We are asking that food collected at other congregations be dropped off at Myrtle during those times. Food can also be dropped off on Sun 9/25 from 1-3pm for those few who absolutely cannot make any of the other times.
4. If assistance is needed with transportation of food items please contact CMM. We will hopefully be obtaining uniform size crates donated by Rent-a-Crate. When that is confirmed, it may be helpful and more efficient to drop some of those crates to the various congregations so that the items can be
packed, sorted and labeled prior to delivery to Myrtle. Crates could be available as early as Tuesday 9/20. We will have detailed instructions on how the sorting and packing should be done and will
distribute these when they are available.
5. Volunteers are needed to help with the entire process on both Friday, September 23 and Saturday, September 24. Please notify CMM if you can participate, otherwise volunteers can just show up....I'm sure there will be plenty of work for all. We will need a lot of help.
6. We'd also like to create a personalized tone to this effort and as such are asking that photos and warm messages from participating churches be emailed to Keith Crawford at kdcrawford@partners.org with plan of creating a poster that can be displayed at Mt Carmel Church.
7. There will be a community meeting Wed Oct 5th @ 6pm at Myrtle. Keith Crawford, who will be one of the volunteer drivers, will give us a report of the trip. He will also visit Beacon Light, a church in Baton Rouge that is serving evacuees and bring direct information of their needs. It is likely that Beacon Light will be our next mission.
We are hoping to be able to have some press coverage of this endeavor so if anyone has any connections please let us know.
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FOOD DRIVE - CATEGORIES
Protein
Canned tuna, salmon, sardines, shrimp, ham, chicken, Vienna sausages,
Canned beans (other than green beans) - baked beans, refried beans, chili, kidney beans, cannelini, garbanzos/chick peas, etc
Dried beans such as navy beans, chick peas, white beans, great northern beans, kidney beans, lentils
Peanut butter (in plastic jars, not glass jars)
Canned Vegetables
All kinds of vegetables (except tomatoes) in cans, not jars
Canned Fruits
All kinds of fruits in cans, not jars
Tomatoes
Canned tomatoes in all forms, including spaghetti sauce. Avoid glass jars.
Plain Starches
Rice, potatoes, pasta - but NOT those that have other ingredients (e. g., scalloped potatoes, rice-a-roni, etc. - these go in the “meals” category)
Breakfast Items
Cereal, pancake mix, pop tarts, syrup, jams and jellies
Canned Soups
All kinds, in cans (not glass jars)
Meals
Canned Spaghetti-O’s,ravioli, beef stew, hash, etc.
Packaged macaroni and cheese, rice-a-roni, etc.
100% Juices
Juice boxes, canned juices - not those that are “blends” of less-than-100% juice
Beverages
The non-100% juice boxes and cans, Gatorade, lemonade, iced tea mix, soda, etc. Also, canned and packaged milk (e. g Carnation milk, Parmalot, powdered milk)
Baking Needs
Cake and brownie mixes, corn bread mixes, muffin mixes, pie crust mixes, canned pie fillings, vegetable oils, olive oil, chocolate chips, condensed milk, frosting mixes, nuts, pudding and jello mixes
Condiments
All kinds of spices, mustard, catsup, relishes, .olives, pickles, seasoning mixes
Coffee and Tea
Coffees, teas, coffee filters
Snacks
Granola bars, candies, chips, popcorn, crackers, pretzels, etc.
Non-food Items
Paper towels, napkins, toothpaste, tooth brushes, combs, hair brushes, toilet paper, disposable diapers, women’s sanitary supplies, baby-wipes, other sanitizing wipes
Baby Food
Canned formula (such as Enfamil), baby cereals. (Because babies are so vulnerable, avoid jars of baby food)
Pet Needs
Cat food, dog food
Important!
*** SOME GENERAL RULES***
1. All must be unopened.
2. Avoid glass jars (breakable and heavy)
3. No “home-preserved” items - must be commercially canned/packed
4. Nothing perishable
5. Nothing that looks like it might have spoiled
6. Packaging must be intact (no open packages, unless they have a sealed inner package.
7. Pay attention to expiration dates on the following items:
Juice boxes
Salad dressings
Cereals
So far, the response has been great. Please continue to spread the word.