As the food distribution program progressed, Pastora Teresa Santillana recognized the importance of the ministry to our mostly Latino neighborhood, so it was appropriate that OUMC's Latino Ministry take over responsibility for supervising the program. (Read Pastora Teresa's comments on this development in the July 2005 issue of La Red.) When he became our Latino Minister in 2007, Pastor Sergio Camacho reaffirmed the need to continue our participation in the ministry. Over the years, we have been blessed by the leadership of Latino Ministry members María Rojo and Paco Zúñiga who have served as coordinators. In January 2010, Giovanni González became our coordinator.

OUMC, as organization of record, contracts with Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB) to deliver a truckload of food from SHFB's warehouse to the OUMC parking lot. Giovanni and other Latino Ministry members, plus members of Grace River Korean United Methodist Church (GRKUMC) and of OUMC's Anglo congregation, organize the distribution of this food to neighbors in need, assisted by volunteers from various organizations. At each distribution, more than 100 families receive fresh produce, canned goods, and a variety of packaged groceries.

SHFB bills OUMC for each food delivery, but the invoice for one delivery each month is paid through the generosity of employees of St. Jude Medical Center, yet another WFIC participant. Since January 2009, a second monthly delivery has been paid for by Eastside Christian Church.

About 15 volunteers are required to help Latino Ministry members distribute food. OUMC's local organizing committee, which is the successor to WFIC, coordinates the scheduling of volunteer groups. Various St. Jude departments supply volunteer workers several times a year. OUMC's Anglo congregation provides volunteers once each year. At other times, volunteers come from various churches, youth groups, and community organizations. Even if no group is scheduled, there's never a lack of people willing to lend a helping hand.

In the news! The Fullerton Observer published an excellent article about our ministry on page 15 of its March 2009 issue, by our own Carol Van Ahlers. Elsewhere in the same issue, starting on page 10, is another article, Helping Fullerton's Homeless, by Tracy Wood, which mentions Second Harvest and other organizations who reach out to the least fortunate people in our city. Pictures of two recent distributions are available on the internet:

• Dec 2008 - YouTube video.
• Apr 2009 - Kodak Photo Gallery slide show.

Would you like to help? Could you and your friends, or organization, come and unload the truck and hand out the food? If you're interested, please check our schedule to see what dates are available, then call the OUMC office (714.526.8317) and leave your name and phone number!

What's happening now? We hear from lots of people that they're out of work, or have lost their homes or jobs. Starting in September 2008, the numbers of people coming for food began to increase. Since then, we've had several Saturdays when we've distributed food to more than 200 families.

We publish a newsletter for the people who come to receive food each month:

OUMC's Latino ministry and local organizing committee (WFIC) will continue regular food distributions as long as they are needed. We believe this is a valuable outreach to our community in which we are truly living up to OUMC's mission: