Team Leads:  Matt and Kathy Auble 

Background

Strongsville UMC has been part of the Big Blue Bus hot meal delivery program for over 20 years.  They have built a relationship with the restaurants in Strongsville where each Monday they send volunteers to pick up unused frozen food from a variety of restaurants.  Each Wednesday, this frozen food is turned into hot community meals that are delivered to downtown locations.  But there’s always more food than they can use.

The leftover frozen food is a ministry in itself that Strongsville UMC has opened up to others to collect and use as needed.  This leftover frozen food is what Brecksville UMC is collecting each Sunday.  Our goal is to repurpose this frozen food to families or organizations that are in need.

Barb Weiser is the main contact person at Strongsville UMC and she is a certified food service worker. It is her job to make sure all the food is frozen correctly in order to be repurposed safely. She is a lovely lady and is more than happy to share her story and involvement over the years in this program.

BUMC Frozen Food Mission – 3 Ways to Plug In

1. Pick up frozen food in Strongsville. One Sunday per month at 9 am.
2. Drive Frozen Food to a Distribution Point. One day per month.
3. Be a substitute driver. Sign up for those times when “our regulars” may be out of town or something pops up and they can not complete their pickup or drop off time.

Job Descriptions

Pick Up Frozen Food at Strongsville UMC one Sunday per month @ 9 am

We need a driver to pick up the frozen food from Strongsville UMC (near Rt 82 and 130th) and deliver it to the Brecksville UMC freezer in the kitchen / or on the stage in Fellowship Hall.   Pick up times are a firm 9 am on Sunday mornings, as their freezers are in their sanctuary closets and 9 am is between services. Once loaded, drive back to Brecksville UMC and ask for help to move frozen food to our freezers.   More detail can be given as needed….contact Matt or Kathy Auble 

Time Commitment :  Approximately 1 hour (drive/ load….drive to BUMC and unload)

Deliver Frozen Food 

We need a weekly volunteer to go to BUMC kitchen to gather the frozen food and deliver it to one of 3 places before the next Sunday.  

1.  St. Herman’s House  ~ located at 4410 Franklin Blvd in Cleveland. St. Herman’s house serves homeless men in greater Cleveland. Food can be dropped off any day of the week. The volunteer will enter around back using the alleyway, pull into the gated driveway on the right and park by the walk-in freezer located in the drive.  Someone should come out to greet the driver and help unload frozen food. (If not, knock on the door.)
2. The Emergency Assistance Center (Northfield)…..also known as TEAC a food pantry serving individuals and families in need in Summit County.  Food can be dropped off each Monday or Wednesday. 9433 Olde 8 Road, Northfield, OH 44067. Pull into parking lot, drive toward the back. It is on the left. You need to take the food into the building.
3. B. Riley House located at 2121 West 117th Street is a halfway house providing the LGBTQ+ community and allies in Cleveland with temporary, safe, affirming, recovery-oriented living space.  Food can be dropped off any day of week Monday – Friday.

Please contact the organization to let them know the time of your drop off.  We have contact information for each – please see the instruction handout or contact the office.

3.  Substitute Driver

If you’re not ready to commit to one week a month, but still want to help on an “as needed” basis, please sign up to be called to help if the scheduled person cannot make their time.

Frozen Food Pick Up / Delivery Volunteers

	Picking up food from Strongsville UMC	Weekly Drop Off Location	Delivering Food from Brekcsville UMC
First Sunday	Sharon Judson	St. Herman’s
Second Sunday	Brian, Becky or Abigail Bendlak Ruth Herman	TEAC	Brian, Becky or Abigail Bendlak
Third Sunday	Matt and Kathy Auble	St. Herman’s	Matt and Kathy Auble
Fourth Sunday	John Leitch	B. Riley House	Maggie Jones & Bob Fehlner
Fifth Sunday	Dave Brown	B. Riley House	Dave Brown

FAQs

What do I do if I cannot complete my volunteered time slot ?

You are responsible for finding a substitute.  The people in the table below are ready to be called into action!

Communicate with the Church Office as soon as possible: 440-526-8938 or Info@brecksvilleumc.com

When do I need to deliver the food?

Ideally, we have until the following Sunday to move the frozen food to any location in need. But occasionally, we may have to get creative.  Together, we can have open minds and problem solve.

Substitute Drivers
Matt and Kathy Auble
Catherine Vastartis
Kim Vann