Did you know that there is more than enough food to feed everyone in the world (about 1.5 times!)?
Did you know that about one-third of all food produced for human consumption gets lost or wasted before it ever reaches someone’s plate? That’s about 1.4 billion tons of food each year!
In a world where many go hungry, no single church can solve the challenge of food insecurity alone. And if you live here in Sanford, hunger isn’t some far-off missions project. It’s a reality for many in our community and, yes, for some within our own church family. Families we pass at the grocery store. Children in nearby schools. Neighbors whose cabinets and fridges run thin long before the end of the month.
This is why connection matters.
Recently, Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church announced a partnership with Feeding America to address food insecurity across the United States. This partnership strengthens food networks, supports local food banks, and helps ensure that assistance reaches people where they actually live.
You can read the full announcement here: https://umcmission.org/press-release/global-ministries-partners-with-feeding-america-to-address-u-s-food-insecurity
At first glance, this might just sound like a national story, but its impact lands right here in our community. Here at First UMC Sanford, we are grateful for partners who are already doing this work with care and creativity. One of those partners is The Picnic Project, one of our Neighborhood CoOp partners.
In addition to their food pantry and weekly food distribution, The Picnic Project helps fight hunger in our community by providing tangible, practical support to individuals and families who need it most. They also educate our community about food deserts and the systems that make access to healthy food harder for many of our neighbors. Their work reminds us that hunger is not only about empty shelves, but about access, dignity, and justice.
Through partnerships like this, the needs of our neighbors are met in real meaningful ways.
Why Working Together Matters
We know that hunger doesn’t ask whether help comes from one church or many. It simply shows up. And when it does, it calls for more than good intentions. It even calls for more than just donations. It calls for coordination and shared efforts. If hunger is a systemic problem, then it requires a connectional effort to dismantle it.
One congregation can host a food drive. One pantry can serve its neighborhood.
But when churches, non-profits, and wider mission networks work together, something even more powerful can happen. Resources stretch further, gaps gets filled, and the works becomes more sustainable. The partnership between Global Ministries and Feeding America strengthens the systems that support local efforts like The Picnic Project, ensuring that no single ministry has to carry the weight alone. And the truth is, no single ministry can carry the weight alone. For every one meal that a food bank provides, the federal SNAP program provides nine meals. Food banks were not designed or equipped to meet the entire need for food assistance on their own. We need each other.
As United Methodists, we are a part of a connection that believes ministry is stronger when it’s shared. When we pool resources and relationships, we are able to respond to needs that no one church could carry on its own. That means when hunger shows up in Sanford, and in any town, it could find us linked to a network of churches, partners, and organizations working together for the sake of our neighbors.
Every act of generosity, every prayer, every volunteer, every commitment to the common good helps build a table large enough for everyone. What we share locally is strengthened by what we share together as a church beyond our walls.
Hunger is close to home, but so is hope. When we work together, Sanford is fed by more than one church. It is fed by a connection.