The community surrounding the Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM) campus has found needed assistance during times of food insecurity for the last forty years. As the Emergency Food Program progressed through the years, multiple supporters have made it possible for distribution of food to go from once a month to every week, giving families in need an abundance of produce, non-perishable food items, pastries, dairy, and at times, chicken, pork, or beef.

Through YLM’s Food Pantry Drive-Thru, the usual number of families coming through for a food basket on a Saturday morning can be between 150-180, but for the last two Saturdays of September, the numbers have increased well over 200!

“We are blessed to be able to help provide what is clearly needed by so many families,” Rosie Hernandez, YLM’s Donations and Distributions Director, shared after the second Saturday of September, where 222 food boxes were distributed, “Thanks to the many people who support the Emergency Food Program, we have been able to respond to an obviously growing need for food.”

These bountiful food baskets are meant to help supplement a family’s groceries, especially during times when groceries are becoming expensive. This can be especially problematic for families, not only in El Paso but also in Juarez, living paycheck to paycheck, with financial obligations such as rent, utility, and transportation taking up most of their earnings.

Thanks to donations from independent sources -individuals, churches, wholesale companies, organizations such as Orphan Grain Train -not only do families in El Paso receive necessary food assistance, so do Juarez families, about 160 of them. Through partnerships with non-profit organizations based in Juarez, several hundred pounds of non-perishable food has been distributed through YLM’s mission-churches as far as the Chihuahua mountains. This is a great help for people going through the struggle and hardship of feeding their family and themselves.

Thanks to the support many give to the Emergency Food Program, and YLM, over 300 families in El Paso and Juarez receive relief from the suffering of food insecurity, which ensures the most vulnerable -children and the elderly -receive meals every day.

For all who donate towards YLM’s Emergency Food Program, thank you for making this possible through your support, prayers, and encouragement for the continuation of this crucial ministry, which continually brings tangible experiences of God’s love and mercy to thousands of people every month.