St. Paul's-on-the-Hill, Winchester Feeds Hungry Souls

Parishioners at St. Paul’s-on-the-Hill, Winchester come on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays to replenish themselves through worship, scripture and the liturgy.  Parishioners and local residents also come to St. Paul’s-on-the-Hill on the first Sunday of the month for the distribution of food to the working poor of the area through the St. Paul’s Pantry.   On the last Sunday of the month parishioners cook and serve a meal at the Union Mission in Winchester which offers housing to 25 homeless men.

The two programs all come under the auspices of St. Paul’s Table.  St. Paul’s Table began in December of 2006 when congregants started to provide meals twice a month at local shelters.  The pantry began operations on the first Sunday in January and quickly attracted needy clients with 113 people receiving assistance at the April, 2008 pantry.

St. Paul’s-on-the-Hill is not a large parish and there were concerns about pulling off a project of this magnitude.  Committee and vestry collaboration combined with enthusiastic parishioner support to solve the problems of storage and funding. Currently, dry goods are kept on shelves in a closet.  Meat is stored in a freezer donated by a non-parishioner and is a welcome addition to the folks who depend on the food pantry.  Any bread or produce left at the end of a pantry is delivered to C-CAP, a food and clothing pantry that is open on weekdays. 

St. Paul’s pantry grew out of a need expressed by the local food bank to help people who struggle to feed themselves and their families but can’t make it to other food banks that take place during the week.  The hope was to reach the working poor, but everyone in need is welcome.  The pantry utilizes grocery store bakery donations otherwise destined for the trash, as well as low price food from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank and dry goods, meat and produce donated by the congregation.   The vestry provides a monthly budget which has been supplemented by collections taken during a November 2007 concert given by parishioners and a recent concert of children’s performances organized by Grace McDonald, a 6-year-old member of the parish. The parish youth group, with the assistance of other parish members, is also reaching out.  They have planted two gardens this spring. The produce from the gardens will be given to the St. Paul’s Pantry.

Through creativity and hard work, St. Paul’s-on-the-Hill is succeeding in feeding hungry souls in Winchester.

Submitted by Lisa Bromfield.