Hunt County Shared Ministries – FISH

So, what is a FISH?
In the mid-1970s, Grace Presbyterian Church pastor Bill Hunt noticed that some of Greenville’s most vulnerable – the young and the elderly – didn’t have enough to eat and asked “What if…?” How could that need be addressed? Those musings led to the creation of a “food closet” at the church. He observed that Redeemer Lutheran Church across the highway was involved in meeting the needs of the community and reached out to them to see how the two churches could coordinate their efforts. Rev. Hunt also spoke at other churches to explain what FISH was doing and to enlist their support. In 1987, FISH received its non-profit status as Hunt County Shared Ministries and became a true partnership among area churches, community members, county businesses, and other social service agencies.

The ministry grew to the point that the church could no longer accommodate the food closet so it moved to the old Greenville hospital on Texas Street. Today, it is housed in a building constructed in 2007 on King Street. A year later, Rev. Hunt retired and Wally Jeffers became the new executive director. The ministry and its services continue to grow under Wally’s leadership. Help with prescription drug bills and then utility bills became available. Assistance with medical and dental bills, eye exams and glasses, and even help with obtaining IDs so individuals could qualify for work were added. At the King Street facility a community garden was established along with a larger plot that FISH farms to supplement its shelves with the harvest.

Wally and FISH are in conversation with the North Texas Food Bank about FISH operating as a rural distribution hub, which would help customize shipments from the main distribution centers in Dallas to accommodate local needs in our area, including the Food 4 Kids backpack program and the Bread of Life Food Pantry in Commerce.

Where does the funding come from? It is ALL local. Churches like FUMC-C, businesses, individuals, civic groups, area schools, and local foundations sustain this ministry.

So, what is a FISH? Originally it referred to the biblical story of the five loaves and two fish. Wally though created the acronym Faithfully Involved in Sharing Hope.  Hunt County Shared Ministries – FISH is a vibrant and expanding ministry, available to all Hunt county residents. It faithfully shares that hope because of the vision, the “What if…?” originally asked by Rev. Bill Hunt.

Food 4 Kids, a North Texas Food Bank Program

Elementary school children on the free and reduced-price school meal program often face hunger when meals are not available on weekends. Working with educators to identify chronically hungry kids, the Food 4 Kids program of the North Texas Food Bank provides backpacks full of nutritious, nonperishable, kid-friendly food to take home each Friday afternoon during the school year. The program spans 10 North Texas counties, operating in approximately 330 schools, serving 12,000 chronically hungry children each week, including children in Commerce.

Counselor Belinda Miller and Head Start Coordinator Alison Walker manage Food 4 Kids at Commerce Elementary School and Counselor Linda Grubert does at A.C. Williams Elementary School (ACW).

Way to serve: Volunteer to load Food 4 Kids backpacks Thursdays during the school year from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at ACW.

Whom to contact: Angela Roberts at 972.765.6547 | SignUpGenius

Manna Movers

FUMC-Commerce provides resources and drivers to deliver boxes of food from the North Texas Food Bank to homebound Commerce residents in need.  This mission is led by the Bread of Life Food Pantry at the Church of the Nazarene.

Way to serve: Volunteer as a full-time or substitute driver to deliver food every third Wednesday of the month.  Food pickup is at 11:30 am at the Church of the Nazarene in Commerce.

Whom to contact: Jan Helton at 903.450.7335

Prayer Shawl Ministry

Meets the second Monday morning of each month, 9:30 a.m., Friendship Classroom

This group is open to anyone wishing to complete knitted and crocheted works for charity and church ministry.  Prayer shawls and lap robes will be made and delivered with a visit to church and community members in need of comfort during an illness, loss, medical procedure and recovery, etc.  Also created are baby blankets for infant baptisms, adult caps for cancer patients and caps/blankets for preemies and newborns at Hunt Regional Medical Center in Greenville, and Operation Gratitude (a national project for members of the military serving in combat zones). Throughout the year, the group also writes personal notes and mails various types of cards to many church and community members with emphasis on the homebound members of our church.

Way to serve: Join this ministry of community and fellowship while being creative.  All levels of skill will be welcome and instruction is available for beginners.  For more information, see below:

Whom to contact: Janet Latham at 903.886.7156 or Laura Milligan 972.742.5566