South Texas church budgets carefully to feed the elderly

FREER—When Don Smith goes grocery shopping, he looks for sales. He knows senior adults at a low-income housing unit in Freer depend on the help they receive from Casa Real Housing Ministry, and he wants to make every penny count.

Every month, First Baptist Church in Freer receives a check for about $55, made possible by the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering. Casa Real Housing Ministry uses those funds to buy frozen chicken, hamburger or other protein for elderly residents at the housing complex.

“Sometimes it’s a little more—sometimes a little less. But I only buy store specials and make it go as far as possible. I budget carefully,” said Smith, a deacon and church custodian at First Baptist in Freer.

Monthly food deliveries to senior adults

Smith, with the help of his brother Dee and church member Charlene Kuenstler, pick up the food and make the delivery.

“In this low-income housing unit, these people look forward to the monthly supplement,” he said.

Freer, with its estimated population of 2,684, is located on Hwy 44, about 60 miles from the Mexican border. Laredo is about an hour’s drive west, and Corpus Christi is a little more than an hour to the east. San Antonio is about a two-hour drive to the north.

“This ministry was started when a former pastor, Tim Walshe, received an email from the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering ministries,” said Shirley “Sugy” Martinez, who serves as program director for Casa Real Housing Ministry. “We applied and received funding.”

All of the residents who benefit from the ministry are at least 65 years old or have a disability. They live in single, one-bedroom units, with one person per apartment. No vehicles are available for shopping. The 23 apartments are always filled, and there is a waiting list.

First Baptist in Freer called Daryl Hall as pastor in February.

“With only 25 active adult members, the church is unusual in the number of ministries they serve,” he said. “Our Vacation Bible School enrolled 30 children. We took 21 youth to camp this summer. From these two groups, seven made professions of faith (in Christ) and will be baptized. We seek to find different ways to serve, such as the Casa Real Housing Ministry.”

God opens doors to serve

Hall sees God at work in many different ways. Recently, his car was in the shop, and his wife needed her vehicle to drive to work. So, he walked to the church office each day.

Along the way, Hall was able to engage in conversations with neighbors and build relationships in the predominantly Catholic community. He sees God opening the door to serve him and others.

“Due to the hot, dry climate of South Texas, there are no farming operations and very few gardens,” Smith said. “This is the oil field and cattle country.”

Freer has an annual average rainfall of 24 inches, compared to the national average of 38 inches. So, few residents have gardens to supplement their diet with vegetables.

Meeting a need

A few years ago, seniors in the low-income Casa Real housing unit received supplements from a food bank in Corpus Christi. When this program ended, First Baptist picked up the program. The local Civic Center provides one meal a day to these elderly men and women.

“The community helps out during special holidays,” Martinez noted. “During the Thanksgiving season, the 4-H Club prepares small packages of food to accompany the meat provided by Texas Hunger Offerings. During Christmas holidays, the Junior High National Honor Society collects 23 bags of nonperishable food items and delivers to the elderly.”

Freer has only one grocery store and a dollar store.

“This is where we purchase food,” Martinez said. “At one time, we tried to buy cans of vegetables, but realized that giving the people in the housing project meat was a better choice. “And there are occasions when we’ve over-spent, and the $54.80 just isn’t there. So, we may skip a month. That month, we don’t have the money to purchase food.”

God provides, Martinez insisted. The owner of the local grocery helps by telling them about upcoming sales and specials.

“Because the people need small portions, the butcher will divide larger items into individual packages for freezing. These can be stored in their small freezer/refrigerator and used throughout the month,” she explained.

Between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m. on the first Wednesday of each month, Smith and his helpers arrive at Casa Real Housing. As they deliver meat, the volunteers remind residents that Jesus loves them and First Baptist in Freer is praying for them.

“They smile and thank me,” Smith said. “This gives me an opportunity to take a church bulletin and invite them to worship with us. Often, they want to talk about personal problems. I listen and pray with them.”

Carolyn Tomlin writes for the Christian market and teaches the Boot Camp for Christian Writers.

This is part of an ongoing series about how Christians respond to hunger and poverty. Substantive coverage of significant issues facing Texas Baptists is made possible in part by a grant from the Prichard Family Foundation.