A concerned audience of nearly 50 people attended the Hunger Emphasis Weekend Main Event Friday evening, October 18th to hear from Sen. Jamie Eldridge about hunger here in our affluent communities and view the film, A Place at the Table. The film paints a stark picture of the hidden effects of hunger on families, especially children, who are not necessarily considered impoverished. Following the film a lively discussion followed centering on what kind of a response we might consider to help address the problem. A group of people are planning to meet for further discussion. If you are interested in participating please contact Martha Welsh at [email protected].

The audience was offered an opportunity to contribute cash for use by the food banks. Because the food banks can use cash to purchase $10 worth of goods for every $1 they are given, money gifts are important to them. Friday night's generous audience gave $640 to be shared by Sudbury and Parmenter food banks. Additional money was collected during the Sunday offering and the total is approaching $1,000. You may wish to contribute also by making your check payable to PCIS and putting "Food Bank" on the memo line. The effect of the generosity of the congregation is to provide about $10,000 food purchasing power for our local food banks.

In addition to the funds, members of the congregation, supplemented by gifts from local grocery stores and farm markets, donated a large pile of food which has been sent to the Sudbury Community Food Pantry and the Parmenter Food Bank.

2013 Crop Walk

Thanks go to Martha Welsh who coordinated the successful evening, Aileen Gardner who provided the excellent light refreshments, and Alan Dossett who handled the technical arrangements for presenting the film on the large screen in the sanctuary. The Mission Team is truly grateful for the congregational support for this Hunger Weekend, which also included participation in the Crop Walk Sunday afternoon by both youth and adults.