Giving back to the community is important because with all of life’s ups, downs and goings-on, we can often fail to appreciate everything we have. When we recognize that there are many people out there with far less, we tend to value a roof over our head, the car we drive, food on the table and a stable job so much more.
That’s why we launched GRACE Grocery Giveaway, a program that began in the summer of 2015. During the summertime, our Pantry truck travels to Feed Our Kids sites every Friday to distribute food that is close to expiration to children and families in need. We are hoping to have three separate volunteer sites this summer.
The purpose of the GRACE Grocery Giveaway is to provide families with food before the weekend so they have meals to put on the table. After all, weekends are when families spend the most time together; why not make those days even more special by giving them food that would otherwise go to waste?
In 2005, we established Feed Our Kids with the mission to supply lunches for local children during summer and Spring Break while school is out. We know feeding children during the summertime can be challenging for guardians. That’s why we fill “hungry” weeks with sack lunches in order to alleviate parents’ stress and worry about putting food in their children’s mouths.
With an estimated 70 billion pounds of food wasted in America each year, it warms our hearts to see some of that food going to people who really need it. If even just half of that amount was passed out to people instead of thrown in the trash, imagine how many lives would be transformed.
GRACE is always looking for volunteers, and what better way to spend your summer days than by helping those in need. Our volunteers are in charge of unloading the trucks, arranging the food distribution and passing out the food to children and families. We are also trying to add some shifts this year for those individuals who want to load up groceries in their personal trucks and deliver to sites around Grapevine.
The hours of operation for Grocery Giveaway are every Friday during the summer break from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. To sign-up for any of these shifts, please click this link to see our sign-up genius. If you have any questions regarding Grocery Giveaway, contact Pantry Manager Rusty Thigpen here or call (817) 528-7085.
