Conley’s Church food ministries help the hungry

The Conley’s United Methodist Church website states very simply, “We serve God by serving others.”

One of the ways the church translates those words into action is through its food ministries. People who are food-insecure or homeless soon realize there are many gaps in the social service safety net, and they were exacerbated during the pandemic.

Conley’s Church food ministries work to close some of the gaps by providing meals to such people in Sussex County through multiple outreach programs. When visits to Conley’s food pantry decreased during the pandemic, hundreds of dollars’ worth of food that was nearing its expiration date was donated to a program serving women and children who had been victims of abuse.

In past years, Conley’s had been distributing donated food to several affordable housing complexes in Millsboro. During the pandemic, it was noted that children were not getting breakfast and lunch because they did not attend school in person, so the Feeding the Flock ministry was started about a year ago. Bag lunches are provided on Monday and Friday to anyone who needs food, no questions asked, whether they live in the apartment complex where the food is being distributed or not.

Conley’s recently provided meals for Code Purple clients at the building that formerly housed Troop 7, and at the Community Resource Center in Rehoboth Beach. After Code Purple ceased operations due to warmer weather, Conley’s started supplying meals on weekends for people in the homeless encampment in Georgetown.

The food for these ministries comes from a combination of donations from businesses and individuals. The work of meal preparation and delivery is done by a small but dedicated group of volunteers including Edwina Flannery, Betty Hudson, Cindy Galloway, Kathy Straub, Dale Kehrer, Carol Ridgeley, Bill Barry, Scherrie Barry and Cheryl Wood.

The future of helping the food-insecure would be much improved by having a coordinated, year-round distribution system that includes strategic transportation to better fill the gaps in the current social service system.

To help or learn more, contact the church office at 302-945-1881 or ConleysUMC@gmail.com, or go to ConleysUMC.org. Conley’s UMC is located at 33106 Jolyns Way, Lewes, off Camp Arrowhead Road in the Angola area.