Staff Report
BUDA —The Buda United Methodist Church (BUMC) Food Pantry and Land Sale TX are celebrating with a ribbon-cutting and courtyard reception directly prior to their Wednesday May 4 food distribution at the BUMC, which will be the first time the food distribution will be a walk-up in over 2 years.
During the pandemic, many organizations faced setbacks and challenges, including nonprofits. Not only were services more challenging to execute, but the lack of in-person volunteers was also a strain.
Couple that with not being able to engage directly with the constituents and neighbors and it’s easy to understand why nonprofit leads like Buda United Methodist Church Volunteer Social Services Coordinator, Diana Woods, were feeling disheartened. But when Land Sale TX jumped in, Woods was grateful.
“Land Sale TX has been a great team of volunteers and this gift was a boost to morale during distribution challenges created by the pandemic,” Woods said.“This thoughtful contribution to our outdoor service space makes it possible to bring nutritional, healthy food to those who need it, in an atmosphere that brings us together in hospitality. We are so grateful!”
But it gets sweeter. As the team was sorting and bagging food donations in preparation for one of BUMC’s biweekly distributions one day, Woods thought to ask them if they could recommend any contractors for work on the pantry, such as extended concrete walkways and installing pop-up windows on the food pantry trailer to make the (hopeful) return to in-person, walk-up distribution easier.
Given their industry, she fully expected them to be able to recommend some trusted contractors, but what she did not expect was for them to vet, hire and coordinate the work. One of the brightest lights in those dark months for her was when she was told they had paid for all the construction work as well.
The BUMC Food Pantry distributes approximately 16,000 pounds of food, serving 400 families a month.
