FOR the LOVE OF KIDS

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” John 21:15

Children all over the world go to bed hungry. Here in our own backyard there are hungry children. Fortunately on school days, children who qualify, are provided reduced or free lunches. Weekends for some of these children is tough; they go hungry and look forward to school so they may eat another filling meal.
FLOK is a new ministry to Garris Chapel. Here’s how it works. Friday afternoons five backpacks will be dropped off at a specific school location. Each will be full of enough food for one child to last an entire weekend.

On Monday morning, the children will return the backpacks to a designated location, where they will be picked up and packed for the following weekend.

Hi, welcome to the FLOK website!
My name is Christina Brown. My husband and I started FLOK, For the Love of Kids, in March of 2009 at Garris Chapel United Methodist Church in La Grange, North Carolina. FLOK is currently serving over 50 children in the Goldsboro/La Grange area. With the passion of several in our area who are dedicated to help end world hunger, we are able to provide nourishment to children in our community.
My heart is drawn to helping and caring for children. Let me tell you why. In 1977 I was born to Spencer and Debbie. Soon after came two sisters, all of us two years apart. We lived in an old flat in Hartford, Connecticut in a tough crime-ridden neighborhood; the kind of place that none of us wish for our children to live in. I have heard so many times that children don’t remember events in their lives at a young age. Let me tell you, if they’re traumatic enough, they will. I remember at times not having electricity, being scared when it was getting dark without mom or dad at home, and sleeping in a single crib with my sisters because we did not have a bed other than the one my parents slept in when they were home. I remember cockroaches on the floors, on the walls, and crawling on us when we slept. I remember being hungry and having to literally scrounge around in the fridge only to find a glass jar of pickle juice that I ended up drinking (oddly enough, I still love pickles). I recently learned that I was hospitalized for months after drinking bleach. During that time I was in an out of a consciousness, maybe that’s why I don’t remember this event. I was near death, but God still needed me here ….. I remember breaking jars of baby food to feed my sisters because I was not strong enough to open the lids. If we had milk, I would give it to them. I couldn’t stand to hear my sisters cry from hungry. I would go hungry so they wouldn’t. I remember seeing a brown, glass bottle on the window ledge; being thirsty, I drank it – my first drink of alcohol at the age of four. I was a child - hungry and thirsty.
I was a hungry and thirsty child. I remember the gnawing pain from not having food in my belly. I remember the thirst and reaching for the little brown bottle out of desperation. I remember the broken jars and feeding my sisters while trying not to give them glass. Children should not have to worry about their next meal. I have opened my eyes; this is what I am meant to do, feed His lambs.

“…for I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Matthew 25:35


Let me share stories of some of the children FLOK has helped:
There was a little boy this past school year whose family not only struggled to put food on the table, but experienced a tragic loss. Simon’s (not actual name) family came from Honduras. His father was a hard worker who tried to provide for his family. After some time, Simon’s father came to the realization that he could not make ends meet, much of it due to difficulty finding a permanent job. He went back to Honduras to find work. While gone he was killed. He left behind 3 children and a wife. Here’s what he wasn’t able to leave behind: money, vehicle, and electricity. FLOK was there for them. FLOK provided food for the children and a page long list of agencies that are available to help in time of need. FLOK was able to relieve some of the burden the mother was experiencing while trying to find a job and feed her 3 children.
There was also Joshua who lives in a home where there is no phone service, on some occasions goes without electricity, and had only a frozen chicken in his freezer for his family to eat. Joshua went hungry on weekends—until people like you contributed foods and funds to FLOK. Now Joshua takes home a back-pack of nutritious, kid-friendly foods every Friday afternoon.

Who we serve:
FLOK feeds children from many different ethnic backgrounds, life experiences, and family situations. Unfortunately, families all over the county are struggling. Hunger is not an ethnic specific epidemic; it is worldwide amongst all people. Some of these children are hungry because their parents can not find jobs or have physical handicaps that prevent them from working. Some are hungry because they lost everything in a home fire and didn’t have insurance, and yes, there are some who go hungry because their parents will not be responsible. We are not called to judge their circumstances. We are called to love those children and FLOK gives us a way to show our love in a tangible, life-sustaining, hope-giving way.

It is not our place to judge. It is our place to feed. “Red and yellow, black and white, we are precious in HIS sight.” Jesus loves ALL the children of the world.

Feeding five students = 30 meals a week;
120 meals a month;
approx. 1,400 meals a school year

That’s a lot of food! Here’s how you can help:

1. PRAY for the children and for this project
2. Donate food
3. Donate money for food, backpacks, and supplies
4. Sign up to sponsor a month of fresh produce
5. Help with this project

To learn more about how you can help Email Christina Brown at:

Garrischapeloffice@suddenlinkmail.com

Food Item Ideas
(Kid friendly, easy to prepare foods):

Canned meats (tuna, sausages, hams)
Juice boxes (100% juice-low sugar)
Pudding cups
Cheese slices
Fruit cups
Canned veggies
Individual snack packs (pretzels, raisins, crackers)
Instant milk packages
Microwaveable noodles ,mac-n-cheese


Here’s an idea of what will be packed in each backpack:


2 cans of meat
3 cans of vegetables
1 can of fruit
2 juice boxes
1 packets of breakfast food
(oatmeal or breakfast bar)
2 snack items
2 noodle items
1 individual serving size milk box
To start off strong for the beginning of the 2009/2010 school year, we need a jumpstart on donations. We would like to begin the school year with a surplus of two months. We would love to include fresh fruits and vegetables in the bags. These are not items that we can stock up on. Many of us plant gardens during the warm months. You can contribute by planting a few extra plants or a row designated for FLOK children.Monetary donations are also welcome. Money will be used to purchase food as needed, wheeled school bags, can openers and microwaves for those who we are giving to that don’t have such items to prepare the food. We also welcome donations of gently used microwaves and can openers.
We would love to make this a success, but we can’t do it without your help. The more we receive in donations, the more children we can feed. We would love to provide this ministry to all surrounding elementary schools. If we can comfortably provide for five children, we should be able to do so for others at a different school.
FLOK is strictly run by
donations only.

Thank you so much for
your prayers and support!!

We encourage all churches to become involved in FLOK or to begin a backpack ministry at your church. If you would like to do so, you may contact Christina Brown at the church office, 252-566-4355.
To learn more about how you can help Email Christina Brown at:
Garrischapeloffice@suddenlinkmail.com

Wayne County 2007-2008

Statistics from NC Food Bank

Poverty

Living at or below poverty 23,852
% living at or below poverty 20.7%

Children in Poverty

Ages 0-17 living in poverty 8,110
% of Children living in poverty 34%

Hunger

Number of children receiving free/reduced lunches 11,317

% of children receiving free/reduced lunches 59.2%



To learn more about how you can help Email Christina Brown at:
Garrischapeloffice@suddenlinkmail.com

 

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