Swh update

Today’s blog post is from SWH founders, Suzanne and Jeffrey yoh

Now that we are firmly into 2021, we wanted to give a short update on the “State of SWH.” Although 2020 was a difficult year for many, including servants with a heart, we were blessed to be given space down in Waxhaw at Furniture Factory Outlet World by our partners from Samaritans International, so we have been able to continue to pack meals on many Saturdays. We are very grateful for so many volunteers, the new ones as well as those who faithfully show up regularly to help us. Our signups typically fill within hours of posting! During one two-hour shift at an SWH Impact Day, using a socially-distanced packing model, 25-40 people are able to produce between 12,000 and 15,000 meals. Although this is a definite pivot from our normal events of 50,000-100,000+ meals, we are thrilled to be able to continue to provide food both locally and for shipment to Nicaragua.

One of our SWH Leadership Team members, Jeff Wilson, has worked tirelessly to be sure we stay up with local partners who distribute our food. We are happy to have recently delivered meals to such organizations as Common Cupboard, Refugee Support Services, Common Heart, and RiceNBeans. With the current climate, need has increased in the greater Charlotte area, and it’s been a true pleasure to help.

We have also continued to ship containers to Nicaragua. Currently, Samaritans International has two containers from us in customs (which, with recent developments in that country, can be an arduous process). We plan to ship more once those clear. Each container holds 285,120 meals, so with production slower, we have been shipping less frequently than in the past. We are praying for a return to normal soon, as we also miss our regular trips down to Nicaragua to help distribute SWH food.

We do have a few tentative upcoming events with churches (though understandably, none are currently scheduled with any schools). As we get closer to the end of covid-19, we hope that our larger events will re-establish themselves and we will be back to producing many millions of meals per year. Because we have three, perhaps four large events currently planned for March, we will be holding off on any SWH Impact Days after the already scheduled ones down in Waxhaw for the moment. But do keep an eye on our social media channels and your email inbox (if you’ve signed up for our email list). We will always post volunteer opportunities as they become available.

Thank you for supporting us!