On Saturday morning, the Fellowship Hall and the sanctuary of St. Armands Key Lutheran Church filled with volunteers in hairnets and gloves, standing shoulder to shoulder along long tables. Their task was simple to say and heavy to carry: pack meals for families who would otherwise go hungry.
They set a goal of 50,000 meals for Kids Against Hunger Florida — more than double last year’s total. By the time the boxes were stacked, they had passed it. Measured in children’s servings, the morning’s work came to 100,000 meals.
The food went to named neighbours: Helping Hand in Englewood; Second Chance Last Opportunity, Harvest House and Schoolhouse Link in Sarasota; and Feeding Empty Little Tummies in Bradenton. Some boxes were set aside for Haiti, where many families still face gang violence.
Todd Clevenger, founder and executive director of the nonprofit, said each packet can feed a family of six and keeps for three years. “That’s why I do it,” he said. “It’s awesome to see.”
Gayle Galloway, who chairs the church’s Community Service Ministry, said the need close to home surprises people. For five autumns, the congregation has shown up to meet it — a quiet, practical expression of love for neighbours near and far.
No one in that hall could feed a hundred thousand people alone. Together, they finished before lunch. Somewhere this week, a family will sit down to supper because a stranger gave up a Saturday morning.
Source: Your Observer, 8 November 2026. Photo: Whoisjohngalt / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — illustrative image, not the St. Armands event.
