Feeding Neighbors: Good Shepherd, Alexandria, VA

Recently, the Synod offered Feeding Our Neighbors Together mini-grants for congregations to feed neighbors in need. We asked congregations to get creative and to share their story with us so that we could disseminate it to the wider synod. When we work together, the ministry possibilities are endless.

At Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Alexandria, VA, they used their grant to take their Thanksgiving Food Drive for Community Lodgings to a whole different level.

Community Lodgings—an Alexandria-based nonprofit—works to lift families out of homelessness and instability through transitional housing, affordable housing, and youth education programs. Many of the immigrant families they serve face food insecurity, compounded by ongoing ICE activity in the area. While children in the Youth Education Program receive meals on school days, their families often need extra support on weekends and during school breaks.

Thanks to the generosity of their congregation, they collected 25 overflowing bags of groceries, all of which were sent home with families over the Thanksgiving break. With the Feeding Our Neighbors Together grant, they were delighted to deliver both a $500 check and the grocery bags together to Community Lodgings. These funds will help provide healthy snacks for children in the After School Program.