Emergency Food - includes links and information on food safety practices and how to maintain a successful food closet.

Now Faith Church of Deliverance

This article, titled "Feeding Hungry People in North Sacramento", also appeared in the October issue of the North Sacramento Union, a free newspaper distributed in the same neighborhood as Now Faith Church of Deliverance.

Do you remember the weekly semi truckloads of free fruits and vegetables that were distributed in North Sacramento a few years ago? The driver of that truck, Pastor Winston Harris, is still distributing food but instead of from the back of his truck, it's from his church, Now Faith Church of Deliverance.

Pastor Harris has long been involved in local emergency food and the North Sacramento community. A founding member of California Emergency Foodlink, he is dedicated to making Sacramento a better place by ensuring that his neighbors have enough to eat. Each month Pastor Harris and his team of volunteers provide food for 1,400 people through hot meals, a senior brown bag program and a food closet.

Are there a lot of hungry people in Sacramento? The Sacramento Hunger Commission just completed a study about hunger in Sacramento County called Hunger Hits Home. By surveying people using food closets and hot meal sites, they found that 62% of the surveyed households had experienced hunger in the past year. One out of three households surveyed had children. And, many were working families: 82% of working families surveyed reported being food insecure--uncertain that they could get nutritionally adequate food for their families. A portion of the people surveyed were from North Sacramento, so they could be your neighbors, your friends or maybe even you.

What can be done about hunger in your community? If you are having trouble getting enough food for your family, you can call InfoLine at (916) 498-1000 to find out what food closets or other programs are in your area. If you live in North Sacramento, you can also call Now Faith Church of Deliverance at (916) 922-9288 to set up an appointment to come to their food closet.

What if you aren't hungry but you want to help people that are? Consider volunteering-Now Faith Church of Deliverance always needs help and you can also contact the Sacramento Hunger Commission at (916) 447-7063 x364 for other ways to volunteer in Sacramento. Now Faith is also looking for donations of equipment so they can feed even more people. Call Pastor Harris at (916) 922-9288 to see what they need or check the donations page on the Sacramento Hunger Commission's web site at: http://www.targethunger.com.

In the meantime, Pastor Harris and the volunteers at Now Faith will keep feeding hungry people in North Sacramento. "It's a blessing," says Pastor Harris. "We enjoy it."

Sacramento Hunger Commission's Americorps*VISTA, Jenny Holliday, will periodically be touring food closets in Sacramento. If there is a food closet you think should be profiled, please call Jenny at 916-447-7063 ext.364.

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