Week Three: Healing the Roots of Hunger
📖 “For when I was hungry you gave me food, and when I was thirsty you gave me drink.” – Matthew 25:35
🌾 Jesus didn’t say “feed those who look like you”—He said feed the hungry. Full stop.
📈 In Alliston, the need is growing rapidly:
📊 In 2023, the Alliston Food Bank saw a 40% increase in registered families
🔮 In 2024, they again saw an increase in registered families. This time by 34%
That’s a clear sign: our community needs our help.
❤️ How You Can Support the Alliston Food Bank:
🥕 Donate from your Garden
Have a garden? Grow an extra row or share your surplus produce!
🧼 Harvest – Wash – Donate
📍 Drop-off times:
- Tuesdays: 9:00am–12:00pm
- Wednesdays & Thursdays: 9:00am–1:00pm
✅ Accepting: beans, squash, tomatoes, carrots, apples, broccoli, radishes, cabbage, pears, peppers, and more
💵 Make a Financial Donation
Your donation helps provide nutritious meals and essential support.
🔗 One-time or monthly donations welcome
🧾 Tax receipts for donations over $20
🌐 Donate online here
🛒 Grocery Store Giving
🛍️ FreshCo and Zehrs in Alliston support the food bank with donation bins
🛒 Buy a pre-packed bag at checkout or add a few items to your shop
📦 Prefer online giving?
Order non-perishable items and ship directly via:
🔗 Amazon Wish List
📬 If you or your family needs food assistance, please reach out to us. All contact is confidential.
Week Two: Seeing Christ in the Hungry Neighbour
🍞 Food insecurity is more than just skipped meals.
It deeply affects physical and mental health:
🩺 Increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, infections, and injury
🧠 Linked to depression, anxiety, and chronic stress
🧒 Children are especially vulnerable—mental health effects can last a lifetime
✝️ As followers of Jesus, we know that charity is not enough. While aid relieves suffering, Christ calls us to also address the systems that create injustice:
⚖️ Wage gaps
⚙️ Exploitative labour
🌱 Environmental degradation
💬 We also need to break the stigma. Many people feel shame for needing help. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
🧒 Teach children to respond with empathy, not judgment
👨👩👧👦 Talk openly with your family and community
💡 Change begins with conversation
🎥 Watch this short video by Simcoe Muskoka Health Unit:
📺 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulxb-XOd064
🧠 Reflections – 1 per day this week:
🍽️ What does it feel like to be hungry?
😣 How does hunger affect your mood and focus?
📆 What’s the difference between skipping lunch and chronic hunger?
🧍 What happens to someone emotionally and mentally when they’re hungry for days?
🏫 How does hunger affect school or work?
❓ What would it feel like to not know where your next meal is coming from?
📬 If you or someone you know is experiencing food insecurity, please contact us confidentially.
Week one: Planting Awareness
📖 Matthew 25:35–36 – “For I was hungry, and you gave me food…”
🍽️ Household food insecurity means not having reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious food. It can look like:
🔸 Worrying about running out of food
🔸 Being unable to afford a balanced diet
🔸 Going hungry or skipping meals
🔸 Not eating for whole days due to lack of money
🌍 We live in a world of abundance, and yet, millions go to bed hungry. Right here in Alliston, neighbours are struggling to fill cupboards and quiet rumbling stomachs. Food insecurity robs people of nourishment, dignity, health, and hope.
✝️ As Jesus followers, called to live simply, compassionately, and in community, we hear Christ’s words not as theory, but as a call to act: “I was hungry, and you gave me food.”
🧠 Questions for Reflection:
❓ Where do we see hunger: in our schools, workplaces, churches, or neighbourhoods?
❓ How can you respond?
❓ How are you coping with the rising cost of food?
📎 Local Resource:
📄 Nutritious Food Basket Infographic – Simcoe Muskoka Health Unit (PDF)
📬 If you or someone you know is experiencing food insecurity or cannot afford groceries, feel free to reach out.