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NJ Church Assists the Needy

By March 23, 2007June 17th, 2014No Comments

Open Cupboard 2Faith Baptist Church in Erial, New Jersey, is a small church that is reaching out in a big way to its community. On the third Saturday of every month, Faith Baptist’s Open Cupboard Ministry provides food for needy people in its community. Those who come to select items from the Open Cupboard also receive tracts, invitations to attend church, and spiritual needs response cards with the food items. When a response card is filled out, the church members follow up by visitation, phone calls, and praying with the individuals.

With help from the Food Bank of South Jersey, Open Cupboard recently received a $10,000 grant to provide food for more people. Through this program, the church currently serves 100 families a month. Camden County, where the church is located, has more than 6,000 residents below the poverty level.

Open Cupboard 1Faith Baptist is hoping to expand the program in the future. Some of the plans include a Kids Café, an after-school program to help kids with homework and to feed them dinner Monday through Friday; a building expansion to meet more needs; and a backpack program to provide financially needy children with a pack of healthy, easy-to-prepare food to get them through the weekend. The church has applied for another grant to help purchase much-needed equipment, such as freezers and refrigerators to store items in, as well as collapsible shopping carts.

In the more immediate future, the plan is to expand the Cupboard to provide laundry detergent, trash bags, toothpaste and brushes, deodorant, and some basic clothing needs.

Pastor Charles Robinson, Bob and Kathy Belka, and Don and Toni VanArtsdalen, operate the program. The church has only 35 members. These faithful members had been fully supporting the Open Cupboard ministry with little assistance until the recent $10,000 grant. Approximately half the church members donate their time working at the Open Cupboard in preparation, deliveries, and during the actual monthly outreach. The church feels this is a ministry the Lord commands and has gained several new families as a result of its Open Cupboard.

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