Prince of Peace Church is involved in a number of food ministries and here are a few highlights:
Minnesota FoodShare
Each March Prince of Peace participates in the annual March MN FoodShare Campaign. Money collected goes toward meeting hunger needs at the over 300 food shelves in Minnesota. Here are some facts about hunger in Minnesota:
- Nearly one in ten Minnesotans experience food insecurity.
- 13.8% of children in Minnesota are food insecure.
- 9.5% of Minnesotans live below the poverty level.
- Over 3,000,000 visits were made to Minnesota food shelves each year, 2011-2017, with over 3.4 million visits in 2017.
- The number of food insecure seniors and seniors utilizing food shelfs continues to increase.
- Minnesota’s charitable food system (food shelves and food banks, meal programs, etc.) continues to run at capacity. Supporting government programs like SNAP (“food stamps”) and creating a more just and equitable food system are integral parts of meeting the needs of food insecure households and working toward ending hunger in our communities.
There are MN FoodShare envelopes in the pew racks. Every Sunday in March there will be an opportunity to donate money to help with supplying food shelves throughout the state. For every $1.00 you contribute it will be stretched to provide at least $5.00 worth of food. Last year Prince of Peace collected $1400.00. Let’s see what we can do this year. And don’t forget . . . our local food shelf! The grocery cart in the narthex is there for donations of food all year long. Gary Peterson faithfully delivers your food donations to our local Keystone Food Shelf at Hamline Center.
Partnership with the Roseville Schools
Jennifer and Lauren Duncan talk about how our partnership with Central Park Elementary, and now Roseville Area Middle School began in this Why Jesus? Video. During Epiphany we’ve partnered with a dozen other congregations to share ideas and resources. We made a video about our food program related to the story of Jesus Feeding the 5,000. You can watch it here:
Link to The Epiphany Project: Prince of Peace food project
You are invited to participate in filling backpacks with food at Central Park Elementary School through our partnership with Sheridan’s Story or to serve at the middle school. Here is the link to sign up: Link to Sign-up Genius
Feeding Kids in Haiti
In February the PoP Rocks High School Youth group packed meals at Feed My Starving Children. With all the snow and cancelations, Feed My Starving Children is behind on their monthly goals of meals packed. The group that evening greatly surpassed expectations and our group was part of packing 4 ½ pallets of food – enough to feed 98 kids in Haiti for a year.
Watch for an upcoming congregation-wide opportunity to serve at Feed My Starving Children!
Meals on Wheels
Prince of Peace Church is in active partnership with the Roseville Senior Program/Meals on Wheels Program. 12 dedicated volunteers represent POP in this community outreach program every three weeks on Monday. The volunteers deliver hot and nutritious noon meals to homebound within Roseville School District boundaries. Roseville Senior Program is part of Roseville Area Schools and this particular outreach reflects our longstanding partnership with the educational community to solve hunger issues. Additional volunteers always welcome! Please contact the office at 651-484-4144 for more information.