Emergency Food Pantry
Our core mission is to provide emergency food services to residents of Mecosta County and neighboring communities, particularly for children enrolled in the Chippewa Hills School District. We provide boxes containing shelf-stable foods such as canned vegetables, soups, pasta, cereal and snack items, which are further supplemented with eggs, bread, and ground beef. The quantity of food distributed is based on household size, ensuring each individual receives the equivalent of 25 meals. In 2024, we distributed 1,189 food allotments to households comprising 3,589 individuals, of whom 1,012 were children. This resulted in a total of 89,725 meals served.
Christmas Boxes
Each year in the months of October through December registered food clients can sign up to receive a box of foods to prepare a family Christmas meal including a turkey, stuffing mix, potatoes, gravy, fresh fruit, desserts and more. Over 200 Christmas boxes were distributed in 2024.
Limited Utility Assistance
Winter is a particularly difficult time of the year. Families already struggling to make ends meet should not face the added worry of having adequate heat. During the peak heating months of October to March God’s Helping Hands help registered food clients avoid service interruption or have service reestablished. A client can receive financial assistance once during this six month period for certain fuel types and is limited to the minimum amount required to restore or keep service on. The client must demonstrate the ability to pay those charges not covered under this program such as service fees, reconnect fees, propane tank pressure test, etc. Assistance totaling just over $3,000 was paid in 2024.
Back-To-School Backpacks
Getting a family prepared for the school year can be a pretty daunting task. To help our clients, each August, in preparation for the school year, God’s Helping Hands provides the children of our registered clients with backpacks filled with school supplies. Each child also receives a new pair of shoes.
