Cindy Bobruk of Trenton prepares to dish up hot meals-to-go at Southpoint Church in Trenton.
Monetary donations needed to help support program
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
TRENTON – Volunteers at Southpoint Church, 5699 Fort St., who offer a drive-through hot meal programs Tuesday evenings to nourish the body and spirit, seek financial help to support the program.
Cindy Bobruk of Trenton, associate minister at Southpoint, said the church has had a food pantry for more than a decade to help people with food insecurity. The hot meal program, which runs from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, has been in operation for 15 months, and has distributed about 4,500 meals.
She said that people seem to like the drive-through aspect of it, even with COVID-19 waning.
“There are a lot of people who don’t have a hot meal all week, we want to provide something to the community, so they can have a hot meal at least once a week,” Bobruk said. “There are so many people who don’t have enough, and for me, personally, I have always had a passion to feed people.”
She said food is something that brings people together.
“It’s a need, not a want,” Bobruk said. “People need to be nourished, and we don’t want to give them something just to feed them; we want to give them something nourishing.”
She said providing a meal lets people know that others will help them on a regular basis and care about them, which is a way to demonstrate their faith.
“We want people to know that God loves them and he cares about them and is using us to do that,” Bobruk said.
She said they serve about 120 hot meals every week, and while they try to do it on a budget, they need monetary donations to continue the community meals program.
Bobruk said that while they do get some of their food from the Gleaners Food Bank, they still need to purchase some of the items.
She said the Community Meals program and the food pantry are completely funded by donations, and not by the church itself, and focuses on meeting needs and making a difference.
“There still is a lot of uncertainty, especially with the prices of everything going up, too,” Bobruk said. “People are nervous.”
Those wishing to make a donation to Southpoint Church should indicate on the check that it is for the Community Meals program. Gift cards to local grocery stores are also welcome. Donations may be mailed to: 5699 Fort St., Trenton, MI, 48183.