A simple meal can make a big difference. Every Monday and Tuesday, local volunteers with The Garden Church come together to provide food and support for people experiencing homelessness in Bakersfield. For those who don’t know where their next meal is coming from, these gatherings offer not only food, but also connection, compassion, and support.
The outreach comes as changes to CalFresh are taking effect in California. According to the California Department of Social Services, new federal rules will make some immigrants ineligible for benefits, while certain recipients may be required to meet new work and community engagement requirements to continue receiving assistance.
Dwayne Switter, is a Ministry Leader with the Garden Church and he says, “since the benefits restrictions I’ve seen the line grow tremendously this one we’ve been doing out here with our church i think for almost 8 years now over on union here and I’ve been leading it for 2 years and its grown a lot but with the restricts now I’ve seen a lot of new faces.”…