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If you’ve been attending Foothills for a while, you know we have a big food drive every September for Rio Vista Center. This year we are going to do something different for our local mission partners in South Phoenix: Rio Vista Center and Bridge Church. We are going to assault the problem of hunger to help Rio Vista feed the hungry.
Right here in our city, there are people who are hungry. Aaron Norwood, Director of Rio Vista Center, said that during the month of August, 2018, they served 5,165 food-insecure people. That’s food boxes that supplement SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and a monthly Rio Bag. In Arizona, 46.5% of households receiving SNAP benefits have children. 1 in 4 children in Arizona lives in poverty and is at risk of going to bed hungry. Arizona ranks 47 out of 50 states in the number of children who may not know where their next meal is coming from. These statistics came from FeedingAmerica.org.
But there’s a greater hunger and a greater need
More than a third of the people on the planet have never heard of Jesus. That’s over 2 billion people who live in a very hungry world.
In order to make collecting food more personal, to help you understand what hunger feels like, this year we want to be more intentional about how we ‘feed’ people. In order to help us understand the needs of the hungry in our community and around the world, we would like to connect hungry people’s need for food with our own food needs. To do that, we are unveiling The #HungerWeek Challenge!
For one week eat like the rest of the world. Spend $29 per person for food the week of September 16. On Sunday, September 23, bring in the groceries you would have purchased with the money you saved as an offering to defeat physical and spiritual hunger. Hunger doesn’t end. Will you eat less to feed more?
Make a difference by volunteering
Please consider volunteering at Rio Vista, not just for the month of September, but for three months, nine months or for an entire year. Think about volunteering as a family activity once a week or every other week. You could volunteer with your Foothills Group once a month. How about combining the two? Volunteer with your family weekly AND your Foothills Group monthly.
There will be a table in the lobby to answer any questions both Sundays, September 16 and 23. You could really be a blessing to the Rio Vista Center.
This is #HungerWeek!
