Introducing a new ministry
I am so excited for LifePoint Church and Borderlands Produce On Wheels WithOut Waste (POWWOW) to partner together to bring affordable produce closer to home! POWWOW is an organization that rescues still consumable produce from the retailers and redistributes it to the community directly. The produce rescued may be heading to landfills for a variety of reasons. Some are not aesthetically pleasing, some are nearing their expiration date, and sometimes there was too much on a store shelf, so they sent it back.
That’s where Borderlands POWWOW comes into the picture. They get produce mostly from around southern Arizona and take it to their warehouse to store until the weekend. Each weekend there are host sites across the state that then distribute the produce in various communities throughout Arizona. Participants are asked for a $15 donation in exchange for up to 70 lbs. of produce. This donation is used to pay for transport of the rescued produce, gas for the trucks, packaging supplies etc. LifePoint is planning on being a host site and start a produce ministry to help feed families at a low cost! It is planned to take place on the fourth Saturday of the month (November through June, excluding December), beginning March 25th . We are excited to bring this opportunity of fresh and affordable produce to our neighbors of Copper Basin and the surrounding communities.
Our leadership team for this new ministry and a few key volunteers had gone to a training on February 25th and we learned A LOT. We learned that WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!
Here are some areas we need your help:
* Volunteer! We will need a minimum of 15 volunteers each POWWOW serving day. If you come out on the 4th Saturday of the month and help with distributing produce (3-hour min.), you receive a free produce box! Hours will be 6:30 am to 12 pm or earlier if the produce runs out.
* Donate plastic grocery store bags. This helps us pre-bag produce so the morning goes smoother.
* Bring foldable wagons! We can help people get produce to their vehicles easier with wagons, and this is also a great opportunity to minister to our neighbors.
* Donate disposable gloves. Used for packaging and passing out the produce. If you can donate this, then it helps to keep LifePoint’s cost down.
* Get the word out! Share and let our neighbors know about POWWOW coming to LifePoint.
The produce offered each month varies; it depends on what is rescued that week. Borderlands POWWOW posts to their social media sites what produce will be offered at each location a few days beforehand. We won’t have any information about the produce being served prior to that. We are hopeful that this is a practical and feasible way to help our neighbors by bringing accessible and affordable produce to our communities. Please consider being a volunteer, as this ministry cannot take place without you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions, or to sign up to volunteer!
“I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”
Mark 8:2-3 NIV
Blessings,
Miranda Jones
EMAIL jonestribe5@gmail.com