North West Observer INASMUCH Article

Inasmuch volunteers form assembly lines to load food bags to be distributed to Greensboro's largest public housing developments. The organization has given out donated food every month since July 1998.

Back in 1998, Greensboro business woman Sandra Anderson saw a problem that needed to be fixed. "Basically, I am a homebuilder and I build affordable housing," says Anderson. "Because of that I've seen a lot of different situations. My office wasn't far from a public housing project, and I knew that there were children, out there who needed food. I really think that in a society where obesity is a problem and we worry about dieting all the time, the children are the really helpless among us. They go to bed hungry, They can't go to the food bank or the Salvation Army. I truly feel like God holds us accountable for what we see and what we do about it."

With that thought in mind, Anderson founded Inasmuch, a coalition of 18 Guilford County churches and two businesses that work together to provide food deliveries to the five largest public housing communities in Greensboro. "Our first distribution was in July of 1998," says Anderson. We haven't missed one since."

Oak Ridge resident Carol Shelton, who serves as vice-president on the board of directors, says that the organization distributes to one community each month, and rotates each month so that all five communities receive deliveries. Participating churches are assigned a specific food from a list of "kid friendly" items that can be easily prepared by -- and will appeal to -- children, "tweens" and teens. The churches then pool their collections and assemble grocery bags, taking care to make sure that every bag's contents are identical so that every family gets the same amount of goods.

"People can help in a lot of different ways," says Shelton. "They can do something as small as donating a can of tuna, or they can come help with the distribution." Currently, the following local churches participate: Oak Ridge United Methodist, Bass Chapel United Methodist, Center United Methodist, Morehead United Methodist and Collins-Grove United Methodist. Shelton is quick to point out that "this is not a Methodist thing. Countywide, we have Baptists, Wesleyans, Pentecostals, Presbyterian and independent churches, too. We do have a lot of Methodist churches involved, but it is a non-denominational organization. We have businesses that participate, too."

Anderson says the organization would love to have civic groups get involved, as well as more churches and businesses, whether they would like to become regular volunteers or simply make a one-time donation. In addition to providing food, Inasmuch uses donations to buy school supplies for the more than 2,000 children who reside in public housing, and collects clothing, coats, shoes and holiday gifts. During the November and December distributions, canned hams and turkeys are added to the food bags.

Interaction with the recipients is one of the perks, says Anderson. "When the churches go and make the distributions, they get to see and meet the kids. Some churches have games and face painting and things for them. These kids know every five months that we're going to come around to their community. I think they get disappointed when someone starts some-thing and then it falls off." Inasmuch is dedicated to making sure that they do not disappoint.

"From the time we made that first distribution, Inasmuch just took off on its own." says Anderson. "I think it's a win-win situation for participants and recipients. You just cannot argue with feeding and taking care of children."


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Inasmuch Provides Food to Needy Families by Alicia Cosgrove