Post Oak Says 'Yes We Can'
They came in bags, boxes, and cans by the cases. The Post Oak CME Church of Longview, TX, where Rev. C.E. Mitchell is the pastor, collected more than 1,400 cans of beef stew, chili, tuna, peas, black-eye peas, beans, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, soups, and various fruits, pinto beans, rice, peanut butter, saltine crackers, macaroni and cheese, macaroni, and various cereals, to help replenish food shortages at the Longview Community Ministries Food Box.
The Longview Community Ministries, Inc. also known as LCM, serves as an organization to enable Longview church congregations and groups to work together more effectively in the community through cooperative acts of service to assist persons in need, regardless of race, religion or creed. The Food Box is an emergency food program. Local churches and individuals donate food to give to families in an emergency situation.
According to Ruby Portley, coordinator for the food drive, hunger awareness is a worldwide crisis. About 25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes according to the United Nations polls. That is one person every 3 ½ seconds. Yet there is plenty of food in the world for everyone. The problem is that hungry people are trapped in severe poverty. They lack the money to buy enough food to nourish themselves. Being constantly malnourished, they become weaker and often sick. This makes them increasingly less able to work, which then makes them even poorer and hungrier. This downward spiral often continues until death for them and their families.
Perhaps this sounds like something you would hear that is happening in Africa or some other poor countries of this world, but it exists in every city or town. It’s just that we are not aware of these situations until someone brings it to our attention. We have a real problem right here in Longivew. In 2006, nearly 9,000 local families received emergency groceries. But now, not just in Longview alone the food banks are nearly empty.
Through a vision of Rev. C.E. Mitchell and the Missionary Society, where Mrs. Doris King is past Missionary president and Mrs. Racyne Mitchell is currently the Missionary president and Mrs. Ruby Portley Adult Department president, we accepted the challenge to help replenish the LCM Food Book. For three weeks, the membership donated cases of cans to help fulfill the needs of the Food Bank. Then on Monday morning, October 1, 2007, the vision of Pastor Mitchell became a reality as approximately 1,400 cases/boxes/cans made their way to the empty shelves of LCM, where lives will be made happier by the deeds done today.