We are a small Episcopal Church on the banks of the Rappahannock in Port Royal, Virginia. We acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Port Royal, the Nandtaughtacund, and we respect and honor with gratitude the land itself, the legacy of the ancestors, and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do.

Village Harvest

Honoring Women’s leadership on International Women’s Day

March 8 is International Women’s Day/ https://www.internationalwomensday.com “Celebrating women’s achievements and increasing visibility, while calling out inequality, is key.” “Collective action and shared ownership for driving gender parity is what makes International Women’s Day impactful.”

Let’s call out the achievements of women at St. Peter’s:

At St. Peter’s our key ministries are led by women. Andrea Pogue (Village Dinner, Village Harvest, Shred It, Sacred Ground, Jamaica mission), Cookie Davis (Buildings and Grounds, Sacred Ground as well as her work with historic Port Royal), Susan Linne von Berg (Village Dinner), Elizabeth Heimbach (ECW). BJ Anderson (Altar – Communion Bread), Jan Saylor (the above and anything creative), Denise Gregory (music) and Mary Peterman(music,art). One other lady to cite – Eunice Key who has moved to SC but who worked in most of the above ministries and named the Village Harvest and is in the collage. Diligent, hard working with abundant initiative to go along with it. Without them there would be a big gap.

Village Harvest Prep Work

This is an example of the work that goes on behind the scenes. This happens to be May, 2023. One group goes to the Health Harvest Food Bank in Montross on the Tuesday before the Wednesday, Village Harvest to obtain the food. A separate team is waiting at St. Peter’s on this other team to return. This second group unloads the boxes, opens them, sorts and creates boxes for each client receiving food.

(full size gallery)

Village Harvest, July 2023 – A Quick Analysis

CLIENTS

For the first 7 months average clients are done from 88 to 79, a 10% reduction.

Clients increased from June from 65 to 72 in July.

Total clients served is 552 in 2023 vs. 617 in 2022, a 11% reduction.

FOOD

Total food is down from 8,844 pounds for first 7 months in 2022 to 7,576 in 2023, a 14% reduction.

Food at 1,206 was over June at 949. It was the second largest supply in 2023.

Pounds per person is 13.7 in 2023 first 7 months vs. 14.3 in 2022 for 7 months.

Considering just June to July, pounds per person, rose from 14.6 to 16.75, the second highest figure in 2023.

FOOD TYPES

In terms of supply, there was a smaller percentage of produce 41% in July vs. 45% in June.  However, it was a larger percentage than a year ago in July, 2022. In July, 2022, it was 34% produce.

OTHER

Cookie bought can openers for those who requested them. We are keeping a list of those who requested to make sure sure they will get them if they were not there in July.

The Free Lance-Star had an additional article recently on other food sources. We have had our “Grab and Go” meals list plus a texting method of finding summer meals

Village Harvest, July 2022 – What happened?

When we look back in July and over recent years, the trends from June to July show either a steady increase or a sizeable drop. There is no consistency between years.

We had 74 people visit the harvest in July.  That was  a significant drop from 96 in June.  In 2021, the number from June to July  was actually up from 70 to 80 reflecting an increase. 2020 was a pandemic year. In 2019 the number of clients fell from 130 to 101. The year before there was an increase from 100 to 119. So it’s  “all over the place.” For the year 2022 is just above 2021, 617 to 615 but the difference between the years has been decreasing.

The real value is in the food provided – and that is up . We distributed 1,254 pounds of food, the largest distribution since March. The year it is 8,841 pounds for 2022 vs 8,718 for 2021. Pounds per client were up monthly from 14.18 to 14.33. The last full year was 2019 which was only 12 pounds. Similarly, the value per client at $6 a pound averaged from  $86 to $88 monthly during the period. It was $81 in 2019, the last full year. 

One positive is the composition of the foods. Produce shot up from 9% to 34%. In 2019 and 2021 it was comparable at 36%.  Meat was the main change at 19% in July, 2022 compared to 15% in 2021 and 7% in 2019

Village Harvest, Aug 17 serves 89 people from 4 counties

August surged ahead of last month feeding 89 people compared to 74.  It was just above the average number per month of 88 in 2022.  Clients were from 4 counties, Caroline, King  George,  Westmoreland, and Essex. It was above 70 clients in August, 2019, the year before the pandemic.

Pounds of food for August at 915 were below the average of 1219 for 2022. Pound per person at 10.30 was the lowest figure since January. Elizabeth Heimbach reports, “For the first time that I can remember, there is nothing to take to Social Services! The freezer, the refrigerator, and the coolers are empty. The blue berries, corn, and meat were very welcome.” (Last month there was sizeable amount left over which they give to social service). Pounds per person has been 13.82 in 2022 for 8 months (For 2021 as a whole it was slightly higher at 14.32/)

The food in April was 21% produce, 71% grocery and 8% meat. (A year ago produce was higher at 33% and meat higher at 17%.)

For the year we have served 706 people for the first 8 months compared to 640 for the same period last year. The food available last year was 10,179 pounds compared to 9,759 this year or 420 pounds less. Pounds per person for the year has also been less this year at 13.82 vs. 15.90 last year.

ECW Donations, 2022

The ECW met in Early October to decide the distribution of their earnings from the Village Dinners. $2,550 was distributed almost evenly between domestic and international charities. It was slightly lower than $3,000 a year ago. However, some funds were held back for other ministries, such as the altar guild and fellowship.

  Domestic  
 
Donation Amount Description
St. Peter’s Discretionary Fund   300 Fund to help local residents pay utility bills, rent, etc
Village Harvest Food Distribution   250 St Peter’s Food Distribution
Healthy Harvest Food Bank   250 Source for food for St. Peter’s Food distribuion
St. Andrew’s School in Richmond   250 School in Richmond, VA providing quality education for children in low income families
Micah Ecumenical Ministries (in honor of the Rev Thomas Hughes)   250 Churches in Fredericksburg established Micah our churches care for the whole person through ministries that address basic needs, health care, housing, income and the social/spiritual.
Total Domestic   1,300
International
Donation Amount Description
Five Talents   250 Transforming lives around the world through Christian economic development
Heifer International   250 Ending hunger and poverty around the world, by providing livestock and training to families
Episcopal Relief and Development   250 Working with partners around the world to alleviate hunger, create economic opportunities, respond to disasters, promote health, and strengthen communities.
Victoria All Age School in Jamaica   250 School visited in 2022 with support for Increased access to technology for the students.
Rev Luis Garcia   250 Priest in the Dominican Republic, to support his ministry in the several churches that he serves.
Total International   1,250  
     
Total 2022 Donations   2,550