St. Frederick’s thanks community for ‘overwhelming’ donations
Volunteers Rita Marquess of Meadowlakes (left) and Cat Clanton of Deerhaven dish out hot lunches at St. Frederick’s Baptist Church, 301 Avenue N. in Marble Falls, on June 6. Staff photo by Suzanne Freeman
St. Frederick’s Baptist Church of Marble Falls wants to say “thank you” to the Highland Lakes community.
“The support for our food ministries has been overwhelming,” said Bessie Jackson, an organizer at the church, 301 Avenue N. “We need to say thank you. The response has been so much appreciated.”
The church held a two-month-long canned food drive for its two food missions: Mission Outreach, which serves hot lunches on Tuesdays and Thursdays on site, and Mission Marble Falls, which delivers plates of food to the homebound on Saturdays.
Between the two missions, St. Frederick’s serves 1,300 plates of hot food a week. Earlier in the year, canned goods became hard to find, even for the local food pantries, which rely on the Central Texas Food Bank and in turn supply programs like St. Frederick’s as well as individuals in need.
Most of the food for St. Fred’s food programs is donated, however, and those donations were starting to decline. Jackson put the word out through DailyTrib.com and DailyTrib.com Screens that the church was holding a can drive in April and May. Readers and viewers responded.
“Businesses have brought those No. 10 big cans of vegetables and different people have been coming in giving food and money,” Jackson said. “We have gotten several big donations, including from two churches that have given financial support — good financial support.”
Donations enable St. Frederick’s to continue providing hot, cooked meals to the food insecure in the Highland Lakes.
“It keeps us going,” Jackson said of the donations. “We feed the people and this community is part of that. This is a giving, loving community.”
Two volunteers dishing out food for a recent Tuesday lunch agreed. Both attend Trinity Episcopal Church in Marble Falls.
“For a small community this size, I am always blown away about the amount of volunteerism that goes on here, the number of organizations helping the community, the children, the elderly, those in need, and drivers like Bessie who have been a part of the community for years who keep the push going,” said Rita Marquess of Meadowlakes. “That’s what helps me. It wasn’t hard to get involved at all.”
Deerhaven resident Cat Clanton agreed.
“I think there are a lot of good people out there who want to help others,” she said. “If you are fortunate, you want to give back. We are all pulling together and we are all trying to help each other.”
Although the canned food drive is over, St. Frederick’s need for ongoing donations will never end. The food program continues year-round, serving hot plates of food three days a week. To make a donation, whether food or money, call the church at 830-693-4499 or just drop it off on the porch outside the fellowship hall on the north side of the church. If someone’s there (and someone usually is) stop in and say howdy.