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Village Harvest
Village Harvest at the end of the third quarter, Sept, 2023
The 3rd quarter Harvest trends, 2023 were consistent with the 2nd quarter (April-June) in people served but well above in food provided. This brought the pounds per person ratio down.
September is the end of the 3rd quarter. During the 3rd quarter (July through Sept) we served the same number of clients – 262 as the second quarter (April-June). It was above both 2022 and 2021 3rd quarter and 2nd – 251 and 257, respectively.
Food provided at 3,654 pounds was much higher in the third quarter 2023 than the second, 3,457. 3,654 in 2023 for the 3rd quarter was higher than 2022 3,258 and 2021 3,312, respectively as well.
The year-to-date for 2023 remains below 2022 and 2021. This was due to the low numbers of clients in the first quarter 2023. We served 218 in the first quarter 2023 compared to 296 in 2022 and 295 in 2021. Second and third quarter were much better so the analysis favors an interim approach.
Village Harvest, Aug. 16, 2023
Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, the day before the Harvest is a work day. 3 main tasks:
This month for Wed’s distribution we had:
- meat and fish (whole chickens, salmon or pork chops),
- fresh vegetables ( lettuce, eggplant, corn)
- canned goods (corn, string beans, pears, beef stew).
- cooked chicken in packs
Village Harvest, June 2023 – higher quarter, lower year to date
Quarter 2, 2023, served more people compared to the same quarter 2020-2022. 262 were served compared to 247 and 240 in 2022 and 2021, respectively (2020 was the Pandemic).
However, due to lower turnout in quarter 1, year to date figures through 6 months 2023 were lower than in the previous 2 years. This year we have served 480 clients compared to 543 and 535 in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Additionally, June 2023 was low at 65 compared to 93 last month. It was the lowest monthly since January’s 60.
The amount of the food available for quarter 2 also exceeded earlier quarter 2 periods from previous years. Quarter 2 we had 3,457 pounds available compared to 3,394 and 3,322 in 2022 and 2021, respectively. However, there was lower year to date food. Year to date was 6,370 pounds as of June, 2023 compared to 7,590 and 7,664 in 2022 and 2021 respectively.
An important statistic is food per client expressed in pounds. Year to date it is 13.30 pounds per client compared to 13.98 in 2022 and 14.33 in 2021, a declining trend. One positive is that it continues to exceed most years from 2016-2019. We served more clients in those earlier years, but the pounds per client was lower.
We provided a handout to all our clients with additional food locations:
Mixture of foods. Catherine with the new handout, Papaya
Souper Bowl collections
Today, Feb. 12, 2023, we collected soup from parishioners today plus cards addressed to the recipients to provide additional connections to our Village Harvest food distribution, happening next Wed Feb. 15, 3pm-5pm. We collected about 25 cans and numerous cards. If was not just the donation that was important but also the symbolic bringing of the donation to the altar which we did today. This practice goes back to at least Exodus in the Old Testament when Moses encourages bringing donations forward to the Lord.
Understanding trends of the Village Harvest in May
Understanding trends of the Village Harvest in May
We are close to the results of 2021 after 5 months in 2022. For the year (2022) we are at 447 clients compared to last year’s 465. Overall pounds for 2022 are at 6,343 pounds which is close to last year’s 6,364. Like the clients figure it is statistically the same.
Looking at just the last two months together (April and May), however, shows a variation from the two months before that (Feb and March). Basically, Feb and March offset the results of April and May to allow for a similar year to date in May, 2022 to May, 2021.
Village Harvest, Quarterly Data ending March 31, 2023
| Date | People | Food | Pounds Per Person |
| 3/31/2021 | 295 | 4342 | 14.7 |
| 6/30/2021 | 240 | 3322 | 13.8 |
| 9/30/2021 | 188 | 3312 | 17.6 |
| 12/31/2021 | 276 | 3327 | 12.1 |
| 3/31/2022 | 296 | 4196 | 14.2 |
| 6/30/2022 | 247 | 3394 | 13.7 |
| 9/30/2022 | 251 | 3258 | 13.0 |
| 12/31/2022 | 257 | 4454 | 17.3 |
| 3/31/2023 | 218 | 2913 | 13.4 |
As of March, 2023 there was a decline in clients from the previous quarter (Dec. 2022) of (39) and first decline since the quarter ending June 2022. The previous quarter saw an increase in clients by 6 people in contast. We began 2023 coming off a 5% increase in 2022 and increase in clients by 52. This quarter was represented a (6.5%) decline in clients.
Food also declined in pounds by (1,541) pounds compared to an increase of 1,196 in the previous quarter. The decline was (30%).
So why the shift in numbers ? Some possibilities. Some people didn’t need assistance or found other support. Possibly the Wednesday wasn’t convenient.
The accounting firm Deloitte writes close to the idea that fewer people required assistance. “Currently, however, the US economy is surprisingly healthy, given that it is coming off of a global pandemic, severe supply chain issues, and a war affecting a key global energy supplier. Labor market conditions alone provide a lot of support for the idea that the economy can achieve the desired soft landing (and, despite claims to the contrary, soft landings are not that unusual).2 Inflation remains a concern, but much less of one than it was a year ago. “
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s (SNAP) emergency allotments (EAs) — temporary benefit increases that Congress enacted to address rising food insecurity and provide economic stimulus during the COVID-19 pandemic were still going on this quarter. However, these benefits will be ending with the quarter’s end. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities writes. ” This will result in a benefit cut for every SNAP household in the jurisdictions that still are paying EAs ― 32 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.[1] Every household in those states will receive at least $95 a month less; some households, who under regular SNAP rules receive low benefits because they have somewhat higher, but still modest incomes, will see reductions of $250 a month or more. The average person will receive about $90 a month less in SNAP benefits.” It will be interesting to see how this affects trends with the Village Harvest in the second quarter.
Souper Bowl- Giving a can of Soup and a card this Sunday – the Gift of Life
Bring a can, or cans, of soup to church on the 11th, along with a Valentine’s Day card wishing the recipient love from St Peter’s to be included in a Village Harvest bag on Wed, February 21st. The goal—thirty cans of soup and thirty cards for those who come to the distribution. Monetary donations to the Village Harvest are always welcome. Write a check to St Peter’s with Village Harvest in the memo line if you wish to donate.
Why give ?
A sermon by the Rev. Evan Garner highlighted why Church food ministries are so important in our time:
“Because feeding them is our job. As followers of Jesus, it is our calling to feed these people, indeed to feed all hungry people. The kind of people who left their homes to walk out into the wilderness and hike up a mountain to see Jesus are the kind of people who were desperate to be fed. Some of them may not have needed physical nourishment, but most of them did. For most of them, their spiritual crisis was born out of an economic crisis. We know that because usually the kind of people who had enough on their own weren’t very interested in Jesus. The rich and the powerful ignored him or laughed at him or, sometimes, plotted against him.”
“It is our job as the leaders of the church, as the stewards of the resources entrusted to us by God and by our parish, to count costs and estimate resources. But it is never our job as the people of God to allow an attitude of scarcity to overcome a theology of abundance. “
The Village Harvest addresses the Food Insecurity issue in surrounding counties and is one our key ministries. The definition of Food insecure is “those households who not have access, at all times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members.”
Food insecure is not the same as poverty. Many of those in poverty are not food insecure though poverty is one cause of food insecurity.
There is a “poverty circle” just south of Port Royal in the direction of Fort A.P. Hill (map from Virginia Community Food Connections):
Food insecurity is associated with numerous adverse social and health outcomes and is increasingly considered a critical public health issue. Key drivers of food insecurity include unemployment, poverty, and income shocks, which can prevent adequate access to food. Figures for food insecurity are expressed as a percentage of the population.
Here is the data for the local counties which we serve from Feeding America and the percentage of those who are food insecure. There have been significant improvements in all counties since 2017 except for Westmoreland. Half of the local area is still above Virginia in food insecurity which we would like to reverse:
| 2020 | 2017 | |
| County | % | % |
| Caroline | 7.4% | 11.3% |
| Essex | 11.0% | 14.0% |
| Westmoreland | 10.7% | 10.8% |
| King George | 5.6% | 8.1% |
| Virginia as a whole | 7.7% | 10.2% |
St. Peter’s spends about $2000 a year on food purchased from the Healthy Harvest Food Bank for the Village Harvest. Please give generously this Sunday. Thanks!