So  hard to imagine it's been six years since Faith Temple Church in Sioux Falls started their weekly food giveaways. Pastor Jeff Hayes vividly recalls the first food giveaway.

"We started in the parking lot of our church at 33rd and South Western Avenue in Sioux Falls. We were amazed that hundreds of people that would show up and kept on coming week after week."

At the time, the nation was experiencing a recession.

"Back then, the economy had somewhat bottomed out. We were having so many people come to the church that we had to do something. Food became available to us. The Feeding South Dakota people told us 'how about giving the food away on Friday.' We set up some makeshift tables. We were surprised at the number of people that came the first week as well as the following weeks. It seemed to grow and grow and grow. Now, we average around 350 to 400 people that show up every week."

And the amount of food that's been given away as grown as well.

"We estimate that we give away about 40 to 50 pounds of food to each person. When you think about how much food we get--between 10 and 14 thousand pounds of food---everyone who shows up gets enough food to last for a week."

Right now, Pastor Hayes doesn't see a time when the food giveaways will end. That's great news for residents in the Sioux Falls community that are struggling!

 

 

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