40,000 Pounds Donated

The Saddleback Food Pantry just celebrated its 8th anniversary, and within that time period we’ve provided a week’s worth of food to over 70,000 families. Through the Food Pantry alone, 2,100 people have come to know Christ.

We couldn’t have done it without the generous contributions of our church family. In order to continue God’s work in this ministry, we hosted our annual Food Drive from April 22–May 14.

Across all of our campuses, bags and collection barrels were available for convenient drop off points for our members. The food was then collected and loaded onto pallets for storing at our warehouse. Eventually, items will be sorted and distributed to our seven Food Pantries and to Camp Pendleton. Our goal was to collect 100,000 cans of food to help bring hope to 2,500 families.

According to Steve Mahnke, Director of Saddleback Food Pantries, “The Food Drive went really well, with about 40,000 pounds of donated food. Amazingly, our younger campuses brought in the most donations.”

As our fledging campus, Saddleback San Diego contributed six pallets of food, matching the donation total of Saddleback Irvine South. As a powerful impetus for growth, Food Pantries not only draw in people from the community, but they also reach more lives for Christ.

Embracing this vision was Saddleback LA that collected food with the goal of ultimately hosting their own Mobile Food Pantry in the coming weeks. In the midst of the Food Drive, members registered to volunteer at the Mobile Food Pantry, enabling them to see how their contributions were making a difference in the lives of the LA community. At Camp Pendleton alone, over 120 families lined up in just two hours to receive groceries.

 It’s not just about the food, however, but rather about the opportunity to pour into the lives of struggling families. It is a chance to share the hope and love of Jesus Christ. To accomplish this mission, we now need more volunteers to help organize and distribute what has been given.

“We are in dire need of people to come help sort through the donations,” says Steve. “We don't want anything sitting on the warehouse shelves when it can be given to someone in need. It’s about being good stewards of what God gave us to bless others.”

In addition to the 30 volunteers assisting every Sunday, our High School Ministry has also been regularly helping out at the warehouse. There are also plans to have Saddleback’s summer kids’ programs get involved by donating a-can-a-day. For now, the Food Pantry team is encouraging families and small groups to step up and take part in sorting what has already been given.

“There are times throughout the year when we start to run short on some items,” Steve explains. “What this Food Drive does is bump up that number and assure that families in need get a full week’s worth of food. In the process, our own members become ministers and grow in community with others who are serving.”

To help meet our Daring Faith “A” goal of assisting people in need, contact, foodpantry@saddleback.com.