Volunteers key to busy grocery giveaway at Christian Life Church in Trafford

The remarkable become a common occurrence since Christian Life Church in Trafford started its weekly grocery giveaways, according to volunteer Emily Simpson.

“If you’re looking for a miracle, you can come and watch here, because it happens on the regular,” she said.

Cars line up outside the church every Tuesday evening as volunteers fill them with meat, dairy, dry goods and toiletries.

The program provides groceries to more than 50 families each week, according to Christian Life Church outreach coordinator Lindsey Parks.

The initiative started about nine months ago in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Last year when we went into lockdown, we had some people that lost their jobs, so we thought about just trying to compile groceries for them and their households, and then it just kind of exploded,” Parks said.

Most of the food is provided by the Westmoreland County Food Bank, with diapers from the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank.

Christian Life has partnered with other area churches and community organizations to keep the program going.

Anyone who needs food is welcome to come to the church on 7th Street on Tuesdays between 5-7 p.m. There’s no need to preregister and no questions asked, according to Parks.

Those who can’t get to the church during those hours can call Christian Life 412-856-4420 to arrange other options, Parks said.

A team of about 30 volunteers unload two truckloads of food, pack it into boxes and load it into recipients’ trunks. The volunteers range in age from teenagers to seniors, Parks said.

“A lot of them serve each week,” she said. “They don’t take a week off.”

Parks said the food giveaway likely will become a permanent ministry at the church even when the pandemic ends. Weekly giveaways will continue for the foreseeable future, likely switching to monthly giveaways once the economic effects of the virus have passed.