Buckner and church partner to provide food service_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

Buckner and church partner to provide food service

By Russ Dilday

Buckner News Service

DALLAS–A line of cars winds snake-like through the parking lot of First Baptist Church of Urbandale, wrapping around the block.

They're lined up to receive food stacked in bulk on 10 pallets at the front steps of the church–fresh vegetables, juice, cereal and soft drinks.

Cars line up near First Baptist Church of Urbandale for the monthly food distribution that is staffed by a wide variety of volunteers.

“Two!” shouts Jackie Belt, manager of the Buckner Crisis Relief Center, to volunteers as the next car in line pulls up. Belt's administrative assistant, Sharon Hedrick, takes down the occupants' information as they pass by. The shouted number indicates the number of families represented by those in the car. They will receive two families' worth of distributed food.

“One!” he calls out as the following vehicle containing a mother and three children pulls up. As if on cue, the gray sky opens up in a light downpour, drenching Belt, Hedrick and volunteers. But the occupants inside each car stay dry. They are only required to open their trunks, where the volunteers stack the food.

Belt coordinates the Food for Families program the second Friday of each month, distributing the food to pre-screened families who have submitted requests and have been approved for vouchers, based on need.

“I work with the North Texas Food Bank to recruit volunteers, line up the food drops, distribute the food, work with the church on arranging the parking lot for all the cars and oversee the cleanup process so we don't leave it a mess for the church,” he explained. “We serve about 150 families representing close to 450 to 500 people on average.”

By the end of this afternoon, 37 volunteers had served 203 families representing 809 people.

Along with the location provided by First Baptist Church of Urbandale, Food for Families is a partnership between Buckner Children & Family Services, Sharing Life Ministries of Mesquite, Southeast Dallas Emergency Food Center, Pathway of Life, and The Family Place.

Each organization provides at least two volunteers for the distribution. This summer, Buckner Children's Home residents and houseparents helped.

Among the most active volunteers are students at Dallas Academy, where Karen Kinsella is assistant director.

This community service provides her students lessons in giving, she said. “I know without giving to the community, the world doesn't work very well. I want (these students) to understand that. These kids all have a pretty good lifestyle, and it's really important for them to see the other side of what's going on out there in the world and to know they can make a contribution in ways other than money–giving of their time, giving of themselves.

Through its partnership with Buckner Children & Family Services and other area ministries, First Baptist Church of Urbandale has extended its outreach and now provides basic food support for as many as 200 families each month. (Russ Dilday/Buckner Photos)

“This is a classroom,” she said. “They may not remember the algebraic equations they are learning two or three years from now, but maybe they'll remember the lesson of learning to give to other people.”

Those receiving the food also learn something about the compassion of the Christian community, affirmed one of the recipients, Mary.

“Oh, Lord, it means so much to me,” she said. “I lost my job about two years ago, and they have helped my whole family. I have two granddaughters that live with me. I'm getting food for my friend Bernice. She has five kids staying with her–her daughter got on some drugs–and she doesn't have a car.”

These scenes of need make an impression on the student volunteers, said Dallas Academy student Jeff Earnshaw.

“Where there's a lot of kids, that's the worst. One lady looked like she would be a senior in high school, and she had three kids, and I didn't see a father in the car. That got to me. She looked my age and has three kids. It looked like she was out there on her own.”