2018 Sept

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Calvary Community Cupboard by Judi Weakland It is 76 degrees, 93% humidity,7:30 am and the Community Cupboard volunteers are huddled together with their hands joined in prayer, thanking God for their blessings and also thanking him that they are a blessing to others. Prayer is how the 26 or so volunteers start their Tuesday mornings and cumulatively volunteer 116 hours per week. It is their passion and dedication to feeding the hungry and homeless of South County that keeps them up-beat and coming back to serve week after week. The Community Cupboard, which started in 1979, was a small barrel in the Narthex of the old church (our Fellowship Hall). Paula Sabo, one of the original core of dedicated volunteers, recalls, “You have to remember Apollo Beach, specifically Hwy 41, was not built up the way it is now. There was nothing. There was just our church and a small grocery store. Even I-75 was non-existant. People walked up and down 41. Many people would stop by looking for food or water. Sometimes, when we had some volunteers, we would make soup and feed the people that stopped.” As the need to feed the hungry increased, the area that housed the food increased as well. The barrel grew into a cabinet in the Fellowship Hall, then into a trailer, and then, eventually the space where the Cupboard is now. The food for the cupboard comes from a variety of sources. Every Sunday, many people bring in the featured food item of the month. This summer, it has been tomato products,
ut sometimes its cereal or canned meat. Publix is a main contributor to our Cupboard. Volunteers pick up day-old bread from both the Apollo Beach and Ruskin Publixs on Monday and Tuesday mornings. “They would like us to come more mornings, but we simply don’t have the space nor the man power,” said Walter Pavlik, manager at the Cupboard. The majority of other food products comes from Feeding Tampa Bay. According to Feeding Tampa Bay’s website, “There are more than 700,000 people who are food insecure, meaning they lack consistent and easy access to safe, nutritionally adequate food. And the problem isn’t limited only to the homeless. Many who struggle to find adequate food are working adults, children and the elderly.” It is Feeding Tampa Bay’s mission to provide food for those who need it, but it is up to places like Community Cupboard to get the food to the people. Volunteers are the driving force of the Cupboard. The Cupboard is a blessing to so many people. They receive an average of 10,000 pounds of food a week and they feed an average of 450 families a week. Some of the people who receive food also volunteer at the Cupboard. Pavlik said, “We have six individuals that work on Tuesday morning very early. When these six are done volunteering, they take their bag of food with them. We also have a volunteer who has been with the cupboard for a very long time. His name is Felix and he is fluent in Spanish and English which helps us when we have a language barrier. Its great to have him on the team.” (continued on next page)
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Page 3 and 4: dyssey has been e all walk in e thi
Page 5: of welcome and belonging to all who
Page 9 and 10: Thank you! A HUGE shout-out of “T
Page 11 and 12: sixth commandment tells us not to k
Page 14 and 15: 12 noon Hospitality & Calvary Kids

2018 Sept

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