Colton Peach, 6, right, glimpses some of the supplies provided to students at Douglass Elementary School by members of St. John’s United Methodist Church during their weekly backpack food distribution. Showing the freshman articles, left to right, Principal Nancy Mark, Reverend Joe Hout and Councilor Connie Thackston. Colton is the son of Edward and Taylor Peach.
Pastor Joe Hout works in his office at St. John’s United Methodist Church. “It takes the whole village of different denominations to take care of the Douglass students,” Hout said after making a weekly delivery on September 15.
Ann Fish Special at RockinghamNow
The 363 students at Douglass Elementary School have special Guardian Angels who provide food for the backpacks that some bring home every Friday.
St. John’s United Methodist Church has provided food to fill backpacks with nutritious food for the past eight years, said new pastor Reverend Joe Hout, who took office on July 1.
Each week, children who otherwise might not have enough food to eat at home are given backpacks filled with a range of healthy foods to get them through the weekend. About 33 children receive the backpacks. Church food is packaged in individual bags and ready to be compressed into packages.
“It takes the whole village of different denominations to take care of the Douglass students,” Hout said after making a recent weekly delivery.
St. John receives financial support from the Spray United Methodist, St. Joseph of the Hills Catholic, First Baptist, Sunny Home Baptist, and Rising Star Missionary Baptist churches, all of Eden.
On this recent delivery day, not only was food delivered, but school counselor Connie Thackston was delighted to find school supplies, such as composition books, pencils, pencils and packets of paper, among bags of food.
“Oh, that’s awesome,” she said, looking at a box full of packets of notebook paper.
