Local church takes action against weekend hunger for youth in Lubbock

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - In Lubbock, many children face hunger everyday, but the situation becomes more urgent on weekends.

Calvary Baptist Church has made it its mission to provide meals for those in need. The church runs a program that serves hundreds of children, providing them bagged lunches to take home.

Corry OGuinn, the associate pastor of missions and facilities at the church, said the program costs about $1,100 each week, emphasizing the importance of community involvement.

“You know, the crazy thing for us is we‘re providing, you know, over 300 bags a week, but we‘ve never met one of the students,” he said. “We don’t know who we’re giving these to. We just felt like, God was saying, ’there’s some kids that need food, help them,’ and so we help them.”

The church currently works with 13 schools. They are addressing the critical issues of food insecurity in the community.

The money comes from members of the church and donations made by community members.

The church’s initiative aims to support families struggling to access reliable meals, especially as the holiday season approaches. With rising demand, the need for community support continuously increases.

“That money comes from folks, and I don’t even know who they are. I just know each week, when I go to buy the food, that the money’s there,” OGuinn said. “And so as it gets bigger and as we keep adding more schools, then we know that we’re probably going to have to start looking for some outside help.”

OGuinn said this also is something the children will carry with them throughout life and their education.

He is encouraging anyone wanting to get involved to reach out to the church. They are currently seeking donations, sponsorships and overall support to keep kids fed.

“We want to make sure that as many kids that we know about get some food, because we want those kids to learn. We want them to be able to finish school,” he said. “You know that it’s gotten harder and harder over the last few years for families, and we just want to be available to meet those needs as best we can. And that’s our main goal, is just to meet the needs of the students.”