THE FOOD MINISTRY CYCLE

Canned and boxed food, as well as apples, oranges and bananas donated by parishioners throughout the week, are presented at the altar during worship services.

A Sunday Community Supper is offered to all—parishioners, those attending our evening services, members of the community—for donations as they are able. Those who are not able to make a donation are welcome to enjoy the meal as our guests.

Volunteers sort the donations and place the canned and boxed items on the shelves in the food pantry

The fresh fruit (apples, bananas, oranges) is sorted by a different group of volunteers and delivered to residents of low-income housing communities.

Food pantry clients come to St. Stephen’s in the afternoon to select groceries

Each year, a grants subcommittee of the vestry’s outreach committee receives grant applications from numerous worthy organizations and ministries in our community. Subcommittee members review the grants and, in some cases, visit the applicants to learn more. They make recommendations to the vestry, which has the final say in which organizations receive funding.

These grants do not include the funds provided for international outreach (our missionaries in Argentina, Heidi Schmidt and Monica Vega), nor our significant annual support of ReWork Richmond, the employment initiative we founded with St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Church Hill, the City of Richmond’s Office and Community Wealth Development, and Challenge Discovery Projects. Funds supporting ReWork come from money set aside during our centennial capital campaign for outreach.

Additional groceries are bagged and delivered to Virginia Supportive Housing, as well as to pantry clients who are not able to come to St. Stephen’s in person.

Parishioners bring food donations throughout the week.

During the last half hour of the farmers market each Saturday, volunteers go from vendor to vendor to collect food (fresh produce, meat and poultry, eggs, baked and prepared foods) that the vendors have not sold or which they have specifically set aside for us, and take it to the pantry for the Monday distribution.

Following is the list of recipients of local outreach grants in 2023. In addition to the funds they receive, many of the organizations listed also benefit from the service of St. Stephen’s parishioners as volunteers and board members.

• ACTS (community-wide consortium of faith communities providing case management for those who need assistance with rent/housing, utilities, food, and other needs)

• Anna Julia Cooper School (independent school in Richmond’s East End founded in part by St. Stephen’s Church)

• CARITAS (housing)

• Challenge Discovery Projects

• ChildSavers

• Communities in Schools (our partner at Fairfield Court Elementary School)

• CrossOver Healthcare Ministry

• Full Circle (Grief Center)

• Greater Richmond SCAN (child abuse prevention)

• Healing Place

• Health Brigade

• Housing Families First

• Peter Paul

• Rebuilding Together Richmond (home repair)

• Shalom Farms (fresh produce for the food insecure)

• St. John’s Church Foundation (education program)

• Urban Hope

• Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care

• Virginia Supportive Housing

• Westminster-Canterbury (Fellowship Fund, to assist residents in financial need)

• Outreach Grants $105,500 funded by the parish budget through the vestry

• Outreach Discretionary Funds of $5,000 for needs that arise through the year

Total allotment from vestry $110,500