Holy Faith, Dunnellon, feeds hungry kids and thirsty souls

Tom Shaffer, parish administrator at Holy Faith Episcopal Church, Dunnellon, showcased two church features when Bishop Greg and Laura Lee Brewer visited the Rev. J. James Gerhart, Priest-in-Charge, and his flock earlier this year: Food-4-Kids and the remodeled church sanctuary.

The food program started in 2006. Church volunteers fill backpacks for families in need, providing nutritious meals for them over the weekend. The church fills 40 to 50 backpacks per weekend.

During the week, eligible children get free breakfast and reduced-cost lunches at school. But over the weekend, many homes in Dunnellon have little or nothing to eat.

When students have five and six siblings, they are given two backpacks so there will be enough for all the children.

Meals and snacks typically are items such as cereal, powdered milk, macaroni and cheese, Spaghetti-O-s, peanut butter and jelly, and granola bars.

Since most school children have backpacks, children in the program don’t look any different when they take the backpacks home each Friday.

There is no paid staff, and the program is done entirely by volunteers, with every dollar helping children.

 Sprucing up the church

 Mr. Shaffer also loves to show off the improvements to the church’s physical plant, including an extension of the building, vestibules, cost-saving LED lights, and updated reredos with a hidden speaker system.

“You wouldn’t believe it. It’s a wonder how the church is still standing,” Mr. Shaffer said. “They used extension cords as wiring. All of these new switches, I haven’t learned all of them yet.”

“Every light that’s burning in this whole sanctuary in the altar and everything else right now burns less electricity than that one chandelier there,” he said.

New carpeting and updated stations of the cross also highlight the renovations.

 The Ocala Star Banner contributed to this report.