Ellen Engel
Existing clients of Matthew’s Crossing qualify for a free Holiday Food Box at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Holiday Food Boxes include turkey or ham and all of the holiday trimmings to feed a family of four to six people. Holiday Food Boxes are given out on a first come, first served basis and are limited to the available food supplies.
The totals for each of our major organizational donors for the month of August were as follows: Sun Lakes Duplicate Bridge Club, 34 pounds of food and $47; Sun Lakes Country Club, 141 pounds of food; Unity of Sun Lakes, 23 pounds of food and $280. The Sun Lakes Jewish Community is on summer break. So far this year, we have collected 3140.5 pounds of food and $3,622. Sun Lakers are always finding ways of helping the less fortunate. Thank you.
Maricopa County Statistics:
* More than 623,300 (16.5%) people live in poverty.
* Twenty-six percent of those living in poverty are children!
* Nearly 1,138,000 (29%) are “working poor.”
* Respondents to a Maricopa Association of Governments survey listed food as their major need!
* Food assistance requests are one of the most-often-received calls at 2-1-1 Arizona.
Matthew’s Crossing serves many of those Chandler families, so the need is great, and any Sun Lakes residents may contribute at established pickup points sponsored by the Sun Lakes Duplicate Bridge Club and the Sun Lakes Democratic Club. Other local organizations, including the Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation and Unity of Sun Lakes, also make regular contributions and donations, and your organization can do so as well.
Membership in local clubs and congregations is not a criterion for contributing. In fact, many individual donors show up at these two club-sponsored pickup points from all over Sun Lakes. The Bridge Club pickup takes place at the Risen Savior Lutheran Church on Alma School Road from 12:30 p.m. to 1:20 p.m. on the first Monday of each month, and the Sun Lakes Democratic Club accepts contributions on the second Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Sun Lakes Country Club (SLCC).
For those who cannot make it to the formal pickup locations at specific times, a collection point is also open during normal business hours at the Sun Lakes Country Club.
For further information, to arrange for Sun Lakes organizational support for this very worthwhile program, or to volunteer your own personal services, please contact Ellen Engel at 480-980-6841 or email her at [email protected].
Matthews Crossing Food Bank, which is located at 1368 Arizona Avenue in Chandler, also needs volunteers on a regular basis. If this opportunity interests you, please call their volunteer coordinator at 857-2296.