New Journey Reaches 1,000 Lunches for Heat Respite

THANK YOU all for generous support to the Summer 2025 Heat Respite Lunch Pack project. On Tuesday, September 2, New Journey partnered with Inspiration Academy students for a fifth and final lunch pack for this season. Nearly 40 students plus staff, and a couple of Shepherd of the Hills volunteers joined 5 New Journeyans in packing 200 lunches. Students had decorated the lunch bags in advance with colorful pictures, blessing messages, and stickers to brighten recipients’ days.

Image Credit: Lisa Ristuccia, The Inspiration Academy

Special appreciations go to Ron Bigley, Steve Brady and Lou Hutchinson for delivering lunches to the Arizona Faith Network heat respite sites at First Church UCC in Central Phoenix and Wesley UMC in South Phoenix; to Jane Stoss for donating all the bread, to Brenda Galindez for donating 240 servings of electrolytes, and to Harry and Sharon Vaughn for Fellowship bread puddings.

All these contributions, in addition to some 800 servings of chips donated by Foothills Food Bank, and grant support from Ascension Lutheran enabled both New Journey to reach the 1000 lunch mark and the combined Northeast Valley Consortium to provide sixteen packs (3200+ lunches) this year.