Every day in Santa Monica, 120 of our homeless neighbors visit The People Concern’s Access Center at 503 Olympic Blvd. There they find showers, laundry facilities, meals, and personal goods. They have access there to case/care management, medical care, mental health services, substance use services, and financial support, as well as the opportunity to participate in life skills and wellness groups.
And every Monday, many are now receiving ample sack lunches made by their neighbors at 18th and Arizona.
A part of UUSM’s Faith in Action program, Lunches for Bunches has been a tradition for many years. It’s a simple and wonderful way for church members of all ages to make an immediate difference in someone’s life.
As soon as we returned to campus for Sunday worship, we started making brown bag lunches again. And now we’re doing it every week because, frankly, people are hungry every week. We have an abundance of resources and helping hands. And our friends at The People Concern are appreciative of the support.
“What a wonderful blessing. We are so grateful for your help,” the weekend site manager Charlre-l told us recently. Her name is pronounced Charl–Re– Elle in case you get to meet her. She’s pretty great.
Charlre-l told us that a small staff makes breakfast and lunch most days and they’re pretty slight in terms of contents: a sandwich, fruit, chips, and water. The lunches we provide add a granola bar, some cookies, and often a mini chocolate bar and the clients are thrilled.
We’re currently making around 60 lunches a week. If we have more volunteers and more donations, we can make more and lighten the load for the folks at 503 Olympic Blvd.
Want to be a part? Here are a few ways to get involved:
- Join us on Sundays to assemble lunches at 11:30 under the shade structure on the patio.
- Support the Hunger Task Force by choosing Hunger Fund under Program Support on our Online Donation webpage.
- Join the squad that shops, sets up, cleans up, and delivers lunches to the Access Center.
For more information, email Jacki Weber at hunger@uusm.org
Woohoo! I am so delighted that LfB is in gear again and making a difference. Thank you, Jackie, Jo An, Patrick, and many others that are making this happen and helping our larger community.
-Barbara K