Urban Mission to get big donation
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STEUBENVILLE -- A special shipment will be arriving at the Urban Mission Ministries warehouse on Thursday.
That’s when officials with the local nonprofit expect to receive a truck carrying up to 40,000 pounds of food donated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It’s a shipment that will help the mission continue its work of serving people in need across the area.
“We are very honored that the church chose us to be the recipients of one of their donations,” said the Rev. Kimberly Arbaugh, executive director of the Urban Mission. “It’s a very exciting thing because, as you know, the cost of food is continuously on the rise and the number of clients we serve is continuously on the rise.
“This is going to be a huge help for us,” she continued. “We’re pretty excited about, to be receiving this much food at one time.”
The shipment will be one of 250 donations being made across the country as part of a collaboration among JustServe and America250’s America Gives, volunteers, local leaders and community organizations to help support families who are facing hunger. JustServe is the community service platform sponsored by the church that works to help individuals and organizations strengthen their communities through serving together.
JustServe-America250-branded trucks will eventually drop off donations to agencies in all 50 states as part of the program that started in November and is designed to provide millions of meals to families in need.
Arbaugh said she was not sure how the Urban Mission was selected to receive the shipment.
“They reached out to us,” she explained. “I’m not 100 percent sure how they actually came up with our name, but they reached out to us and asked if we were interested. I thought it was a God thing, that he was working in the midst of all of this.”
While they have not been told exactly what items will be included in the shipment, Arbaugh said they have been told it will not include any perishable items.
“All we really know is that it’s dry goods, and that could be anything from cereal to pasta,” she said. “We’re not 100 percent sure what will be coming off of that truck. We just know that it’s dry goods, and not perishable or frozen items. That makes it more exciting, because those types of items generally have a longer shelf life.
“Sometimes we get produce, and that’s amazing, but you have to get it out pretty quickly before it’s spoiled,” Arbaugh added. “If it’s nonperishable or dry goods, that works out well because we can space it out and make sure we’re using it over an appropriate amount of time.”
Donations always are welcome, Arbaugh said, adding that the need for food and the other services offered by the organization continues to grow.
“We sign up new people just about every day,” she explained. “Wednesday is our busiest day here at the pantry. The line of people wraps around the building.”
The donation will arrive at a good time, Arbaugh said. Thursday also is the day the United Way of Jefferson County’s Day of Action will be held. Volunteers from around the community will be helping at numerous agencies throughout the community as part of the call to service.
“We always have some volunteers come over for that, so this will be wonderful, because this will be a great help to our staff to have those extra volunteers to get that truck unloaded, get that food sorted and ready to go into the hands of our clients,” Arbaugh said.
It also will provide an early start for National Hunger Month and will help to draw attention to the need that exists in the area and how residents can work together to make a change, Arbaugh said. National Hunger Month is a campaign organized in 2007 by the Feeding America Network as a way to raise awareness about food insecurity and inspire people to help.