Southern Region
Caring Ministries partners with 45 local churches to feed families in our community. Last year we gave out 4 million pounds of food which equals about 116,628 food boxes. Twelve people made the decision to follow Christ. We have seen an increase of migrants seeking food and resources at our food distributions. The challenge we are facing is having enough to accommodate the influx of need, while still supporting our distribution partners. We had a lot of changes in our Life Development Program, where we had men enter and leave last year. Currently we are looking for two men to enter our program and become part of our team. The remaining team continues to face different challenges with their health and families. Please pray that we will have enough resources for everyone in need and continue to pray for our team and volunteers.
Central Region
Providing quality food to our clients is a key area of need in the midst of the ever-changing supply chain. We continue to receive food deliveries from our regional food bank partners United and St.Mary’s, but these organizations are now transitioning to us directly picking up food from local grocery stores. St. Mary’s has provided a leased truck to help with these pickups. We ask for prayer as we have the added cost of fuel and staffing needed to make these pickups. We are also exploring alternative sources of food including: direct partnerships with local farmers (Rhiba Farms), sharing resources between other faith-based resource centers (Desert Manna in Mesa) and working with our local church partners to host food drives. Even in the midst of these challenges we see God’s provision through the deeper relationships built with these partners. Our volunteers have remained faithful through these difficulties, and we have seen several volunteers grow deeper in their faith through discipleship with our staff or greater involvement in their church. Thank you to all of our volunteers who have joined us this year in restoring dignity and hope in Christ through life-giving resources.