November 1, 2024 // by parishioner Susan Dowd

Jim Korslund and I enjoyed spending the morning of Saturday, Oct. 19th helping with the food distribution ministry at Casa Maria. This outreach program is located at St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Richfield. Casa Maria’s mission is to cultivate community through food, relationships, safe spaces to gather, and the mutual sharing of gifts.

Each Saturday afternoon, community members line up at the church to choose food from a variety of fresh produce and staple items. They can fill their bags or boxes at no charge. Much of the food comes from another of our outreach partners, VEAP.

The ministry is extremely well-organized, and the volunteers have fun bagging bulk items (like huge bags of Breadsmith bread) into individual portions, and then staffing the actual distribution. Some of the volunteers are “regulars” from other churches who help the St. Stephen’s newbies get on board. On October 19th, individuals from over 60 households came through the door for free food.

SUPPORTING & SERVICE WITH CASA MARA

Our next service date is Saturday, December 21st. I hope you’ll consider volunteering. It’s easy and a great experience! There are also opportunities to become a drive for this ministry.

We are holding a Winter Clothing Drive for Casa Maria November 17th – December 8th. Learn more about the drive here.