Fighting hunger for Lent

Bri Brasher
NLJ Reporter
 
Newcastle’s BREAD Inc. (Bringing Resources, Encouragement, Assistance, Direction) is spearheading a local initiative centered around Lent. Together with churches in the area, the BREAD office is challenging people to donate “40 for Lent” by either giving a dollar or an item a day. The BREAD office is looking for nonperishable food items and hygiene products and said the organization is grateful for any monetary donation, even if $40 is not feasible. Donations are accepted at the local churches and at the BREAD office, and monetary donations can also be sent to P.O. Box 384. 
“The BREAD office is more like a food pantry where those that qualify on an income level can come in,” explained Ken Pitlick, manager of the BREAD office and chaplain at the honor camp. 
Pitlick said the 40 for Lent campaign was successful in its first go last year, so the nonprofit decided to bring it back this year. 
“In our regular board meeting, one of the board members suggested that maybe we could try this. It was successful the first year, so we thought we should go for it again this year,” Pitlick said. 
Nearly all the churches in Newcastle sent out a poster with information, including Corpus Christi Catholic Church, where Pitlick is a deacon. With Lent underway, the BREAD office has already received some donations, and the organization is expecting more. So far, Pitlick said, most donations have come from the First United Methodist Church, where Brenda Torrie has been pastor since July of 2018.
“I think everybody in
town knows that if they need any community help or assistance that our church is willing to do what they are able,” Torrie said.
Torrie said that 40 for Lent has been well received by her congregation. She said that Chris French, president of the United Methodist Women, found out about the campaign several months ago, and the group unanimously voted to support BREAD’s initiative. Torrie said she preached about 40 for Lent to kick it off “as a way to support the community as Christians.” She added that preaching about the campaign gave it a “better pitch than just saying we’re doing it.” 
“Lent is a 40-day holy season, and so for every day in the 40 days of Lent, we are to collect something, either a hygiene product or a nonperishable food item, each day for Lent,” said Torrey. “We (each individual or each household) will end up with 40 items to donate to the BREAD office.”
The First United Methodist Church is “really motivated” for 40 for Lent, especially after a Christmas donation season that did not go as well as previous years for the church, according to Torrie. The pastor said her church’s basket for 40 for Lent is full every week. To get things going, she said, she had all of her personal donations collected and in the basket the first Sunday to set a good example by “getting her act in gear.”
“I think people are just happy to do it. Our congregation is really quite good at trying to respond to the needs of the community,” Torrie said. 
Pitlick said the donations from 40 for Lent help the BREAD office save money by not having to purchase needed goods. The BREAD office buys certain perishable items that don’t last long from local stores, such as eggs and margarine, Pitlick said. 
“We have a selection of different food down there—some of the food we buy from the Food Bank of the Rockies, and they deliver a couple of times a month,” Pitlick said. 
Sometimes the Food Bank of the Rockies donates goods with their shipments too, Pitlick said. All donations help to feed single people, small families and large families in the community, each having different guidelines and qualifications for service, according to Pitlick. Eligibility is largely based on income level, he said. And some people are struggling due to a loss of a job or other trials, he said, and the office works to do what it can regardless of guidelines. 
Those who donate feel a sense of contributing to the community, according to Pitlick, who said giving a
can of pork and beans or
other items that would normally be cooked for one’s own family helps to meet the needs of others. 
“I think people are very appreciative because they often tell us how appreciative they are. There are needy families here—families that we don’t usually see out in the general population very much,” Pitlick said. 
In looking ahead to the end of Lent and the beginning of the Easter holiday, Pitlick said the BREAD office will be putting together an
Easter basket of sorts for those who qualify. 
“They can come in and shop for their Easter dinners,” said Pitlick. “We give meat certificates and certain things on our shelves that they can select from and put together an Easter dinner for themselves.”