In Milton-Freewater, a small farming and ranching town near\nWalla Walla, 45 percent of the population is Hispanic. The immigrants work in\nthe vineyards, orchards and pea industries. Their children mostly work in low\nhourly wage jobs which have been reduced or eliminated by the COVID-19\npandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Poverty is not new\nhere but now it is harder than usual. For those who are homeless (about 20 at\nthis time), life has become a daily struggle. The public restrooms are\nclosed. The library, here they used to\nhave access to computers and a safe place to nap during the day, is closed. The\nsmall caf\u00e9s that gave them a free cup of coffee and place to plug in their cell\nphones are closed. There is no one at the DHS office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Tillie MakePeace, pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church, heard about the opportunity to apply for a grant to buy Safeway gift cards she was excited and thankful. With Columbia District Superintendent Erin Martin\u2019s help she applied for and received $5,000 to purchase 100 gift cards for $50 each. The Grocery Gift Cards for Families grant encourages reaching out to community partners who serve food insecure populations and know of the greatest needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since Wesley UMC works closely with several community\nservice groups it didn\u2019t take long to find their partners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith this large an order and its intended purpose we were\nable to get a discount from Safeway which provided five more gift cards,\u201d\nMakePeace said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She divided them between the Breadbasket and Gib Olinger\nElementary School\u2019s family food program. She retained the five additional cards\nfor folks who come to use Wesley\u2019s shower facilities, the only free shower\nfacility in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the Breadbasket, the local food bank, supplies have\nfallen short in the areas food stamps cannot buy: toilet paper, tooth paste,\ndiapers, wipes, socks and more. The gift cards will help people buy some of\nthese necessities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Milton-Freewater community members are used to pitching in\nwhere needed. In Febrruary a flood threatened to swamp part of the town.\nMakepeace said people stopped what they were doing to fill sand bags to\nreinforce the dyke and worked together to open an overnight shelter for those\naffected by the flood. \u201cThis community doesn\u2019t get stuck too much on political\ndifferences. They focus on helping those who are basic needs insecure. It\u2019s an incredibly generous community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe who serve our brothers and sisters of Grace in need are\ndeeply thankful for this opportunity to support struggling families and\npersons. These folks struggle when there is no crisis, so it is most wonderful\nto offer extended support during this time.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Tillie MakePeace, pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church, heard about the opportunity to apply for a grant to buy Safeway gift cards she was excited and thankful. With Columbia District Superintendent Erin Martin\u2019s help she applied for and received $5,000 to purchase 100 gift cards for $50 each. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":21051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[89,513,79,64,17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21050","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-covid-19","8":"category-fund-for-families","9":"category-local-church-2","10":"category-news","11":"category-oregon-idaho-conference"},"yoast_head":"\n