The Southern New England Conference Adventist Community Services (SNEC ACS) exists to empower churches within the conference as they connect with and meet the needs of their various communities by facilitating opportunities for ministry, training, direction, workforce, resources, and more. ACS encourages collaboration between community and local churches across the tri-state area of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
One of the growing community service ministries in SNEC is food pantries. “The first official ACS food pantries in the Southern New England Conference were in Amesbury and South Lancaster, Massachusetts, and are still active today,” says Frankie Vazquez, SNEC ACS director. The food pantry at the Plainville church in Connecticut was organized about 20 years ago and is still going strong. Now food pantries are popping up all over the conference, despite the demanding nature of this ministry.
Food pantries were one ministry that grew exponentially and became more visible, not less, during the pandemic. Heaven’s Storehouse, at the Middletown-Portland church, was feeding about 50 families per week before the pandemic. During the pandemic, they brought boxes of food outside and loaded them into people’s cars as they parked by the curb. Probably because of the increased need and the high visibility in the neighborhood, they fed about 100 families per week.
Vazquez reports that the food pantry at the Boston Temple church went from distributing food to 35 to 40 families once a week to serving 125 or more families twice a week during the pandemic. Similar reports came from other food pantries.
Vazquez says, “Churches can do more than provide food and clothing.” Some SNEC churches are planning mental health and addiction recovery support groups for the community, realizing that their church can become a center of influence in a variety of ways.
“My goal is to hear people from the community say, ‘I am happy that people from that church helped me,’ ” says Vazquez.
For a list of active SNEC food pantries, visit www.sneconline.org/foodpantry-acscenters. If you’re interested in volunteering or starting a food pantry or center of influence at your church, contact Frankie Vazquez at Fvazquez@sneconline.org.
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Adventist Community Services, Southern New England Conference
