You can help our homebound seniors weather the upcoming winter storms. Next time you’re grocery shopping, simply pick up an extra item to donate to St. Luke’s Blizzard Bags.
“For most of us, winter storms means slick roads and freezing temperatures. For homebound seniors, it can mean going hungry,” Ending Hunger OKC Director Chris Lambert said. “Blizzard Bags serve as emergency provisions for those times the weather prevents us from delivering Meals on Wheels or Mobile Meals.”
Right now, St. Luke’s is partnering with Subaru’s “Share the Love” event to provide Blizzard Bags to as many seniors as possible. The church is asking for non-perishable items. Items needed include peanut butter, corn, green beans, baked beans, shelf-stable microwave pastas, instant oatmeal, mac and cheese, and various soups. Drop off donations at the “Mission Bin” in the Downtown Campus Gallery.
“Our Saturday Mobile Meals ministry has provided Blizzard Bags to seniors for years,” Chris said. “We’re happy to join with them to now include those seniors we deliver to during the week through Meals on Wheels OKC.”
St. Luke’s youth will be returning to help assemble the bags for the third straight year. “I am thrilled that the youth volunteer their time working on Blizzard Bags,” volunteer Susan Koopman said. “I wish every year there was some way for those kids to see the reactions of the recipients and put faces to the task at hand, in the hope that they would be interested in continuing to grow in their volunteer lives.”
Susan describes the 10 to 20 people she delivers meals to every month as her “extended family.”
“We’re delivering human contact and sustenance to people who are very vulnerable to being hungry and alone,” she said. “A lot of times when I have an extra meal and give it to someone, they say ‘Oh good, now I can eat tomorrow.’ So the thought that St. Luke’s is generous enough to provide a bag of food for several days makes me very proud and humbles me in the fact that perhaps they can somehow see God in that simple delivery of basic necessities.”
“It’s opportunities like this that remind us we are one when we come together as St. Luke’s to Share God’s Love and Bring Hope to the World,” Chris said.
To learn more about these programs, visit endinghungerokc.org – or email Chris Lambert at clambert@stlukesokc.org.
