Nearly a dozen middle school students arrive on Wednesday to help the Henderson Interchurch Ministry clean and organize its food storage areas. The students were part of more than 100 students who volunteered across Henderson during Full Armor Christian Academy's annual Day of Service.

At HIM, student cleaned shelves, sorted food and processed recent donations. Students also prepared several bags of food for distribution to needy families in Rusk County.

A recent remodellong project in the food preparation area of our offices has opened up more room for volunteers to receive, sort and organize food for distribution. The project was the idea of Linda Walker, who has been working with HIM over the past few mionths after moving to area.

Linda drafted her husband, Robert, to design and plan the work. Togheter with Travis Birdwell, another volunteer, they spent two days working on removing some shelves, moving freezers and rearranging other shelves in order to utilize the space as efficiently as possible.

Now, four or more volunteers can work side by side without colliding with one another.

The Northside Elementary School Student Council recently sponsored a "Pack the Pantry" food drive to benefit families in our community.  Students collected over 3,600 items and donated them to the Henderson Interchurch Ministry. The food comes at a critical time of year as HIM prepares for its annual Thanksgiving baskets.


Shown loading the boxes are fifth grade student council members. Front row, Malachi Foreman, Brock Johnson, Jamiron Hickman, Aiden Soller, Christopher Roquemore, Gracie Briscoe, Katelyn Boutin, Katie McClurg, Aubrey Ellis, and Kaitlyn Temple. Second row, JT Howard, Ke'Shaun Dansby, Brayden Hylander, Ariana Elledge, Marcus Cloutier and Jordan Lybrand.  Back Row, Joey Norman, Calan Castles, Kylee Vineyard, Hazen Adkison, Morgan Doerge and Sophie Watson.

Now there is an easier way to find out what the ministry currently needs. With recent changes to the HIM website, a new page has been added that includes a simple graph showing what the ministry has in its pantry. Simply click on the "Our Current Needs" menu item at the top of any page.

 We've divided up the pantry into food categories and listed the amount on hand in a percentage basis. Items are also color-coded to give a quick indication of how needed they are. For example, if an item is showing red, it is a critically low level.

 Categories showing at or near 100% mean we expect our current stock to be sufficient for next few weeks. Similarly, categories showing less than 50% mean we could use more of those items. Categories showing less than 25% are at critical levels and are needed immediately.

 So the next time you are planning a trip to the grocery store, check out the web page and then pick up a few of the most needed items.

Several local businesses leaders made sizable donations to the HIM recently, helping it to survive summer shortage of food. Executive Director donna Huckins said, "I've never had to shut the doors of giving out food in the four and a half years that I've been here. But this time, we just didn't have any more food."

The donations, which totaled more than $2,500, were coordinated by Toni Dorsey who works with AssisCare. Toni said a Facebook post of empty shelves got her attention. She took it upon herself to visit several local businesses she had contact with and solicit donations.

Toni also took on the responsibility of buy food with the cash donations. "I've never shopped for so much food," Toni said. While several of the donors gather last week for a photo, Huckins thanked and praised them. "This has been wonderful," she said. "Toni has truly kept our doors open."

Photo:  (L-R) Christy Staneart, Brookdale; Donna Huckins, Executive Director of H.I.M.; Toni Dorsey, AssistCare; Jim Kale, Executive Director at Azalea Place; Krissy Chastain, Director of Medical/Surgical at East Texas Medical Center Henderson; Joe Costello, Executive Director at Autumn Leaves. Not pictured are Representatives from Henderson Family Medicine, Henderson Health and Rehab Center, Dr. Walgama and CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic.

The Henderson Interchurch Ministry is preparing for the holidays with a drive to re-stock the pantry shelves. Executive Director Donna Huckins says the the months from October through December are always the busiest and this year she expects a similar demand.

August was a record setting month as the Henderson Interchurch Ministry helped more people that month than ever before. Executive Director Donna Huckins said the ministry, which provides food and funds for Rusk County Residents in need, helped 204 people in August. "That's a tremendous number," she said.