Our Mission and Service ministry will sponsor IUCC’s annual Families Forward food drive in March.  Please read on to see how you can participate!  [You are encouraged to make food or dollar donations directly to Families Forward any month of the year, of course; but March is our congregation’s month for emphasizing this need.]

The March timing is especially good.  That is because the need for donated food, always ongoing, is about to become more acute.

CBS News reported on February 10 that:

A ”hunger cliff” is looming for millions of Americans, with 32 states set to slash food-stamp benefits beginning in March.

California is one of those states.

The reductions are due to the end of so-called emergency allotments provided by Congress, which bolstered food-stamp (SNAP) benefits at the start of the pandemic.  The cut-off provision was included in the December omnibus spending package.  As further context:  the Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates that groceries cost about 10% more at the end of 2022 than they did 12 months earlier. 

Food banks like the one maintained by Families Forward are sure to see a jump in demand for donated food.

• So there is the reality, friends: the wealthiest nation on the planet is making hunger a bigger problem than it is has been for the last two+ years.

• And here is how to react, friends (in addition to registering your point of view with those who represent you in Washington and Sacramento). For help with that, please see the following article.

Throughout March, you will find a donations bin in the church narthex.  Please bring your donations of non-perishable goods there, and Mission & Service will insure that they get to the Families Forward headquarters, here in Irvine.

Here is a list of what is most-needed, per the Families Forward web site:

You can find more information at www.families-forward.org

Thank you in advance for your contributions to hungry families.