Why I Give - Steve Howard

Portraits in Generosity highlights our Sustaining Donors, the people who’ve committed to a monthly donation to the South Bay Food Pantry

“It’s the most consequential work that we do as a church community. I want to be a part of it.”

Steve Howard learned about the Food Pantry early in 2020 from Maureen McNair, who founded the Pantry. He knew right away that he wanted to support it. He volunteered as a mid-week bagger, showing up on a weekday morning to move produce like onions and squashes from the five-hundred-pound pallets that the food banks deliver to the individual bags that volunteers distribute on Saturday. He’s always worked for humanitarian causes, and he feels that “what we do matters more than what we believe.” The hands-on work of bagging, which he continues to do every week has grown his understanding of social justice work: “I discovered that I get a lot of satisfaction in directly helping people. I get to see the results.”
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Steve has been a member of First Church since 1986. He’s a long time member of the Men’s Fellowship support group, and he’s been involved in many of the church’s efforts in social justice, including the Journey Toward Wholeness team, Solace, and the annual Homeless Shelter. He’s a familiar figure on the patio on Sunday morning, where he’s a regular at the welcoming table outside Bard hall. Talking about his monthly support of the pantry, he said, “I’ve gotten so much from the church community, and I want to be sure that the Church and the Food Pantry are there for people who come after me.”
 
He's aware of the Pantry’s monthly costs—expenses, chiefly rent, utilities and the food purchased from food banks run $3100 to $3400 a month—and concerned about the Pantry’s need for a predictable income stream: “It’s really urgent to build a sustaining income for the Pantry. It’s the most consequential work we do as a church community, and I want to be a part of it.”

Written by Barbara Davenport