Northeast Valley Consortium Heat Respite Wrap-Up and a Look Ahead

The NEVC collaboratively provided more than 3400 lunches, 6 water pallets, and accompanying electrolytes to Arizona Faith Network sites (to First Church UCC and Grace Lutheran from June 1 – August 10; to Wesley UMC and Bethlehem Baptist from August 17 – September 21). We greatly appreciate Ascension Lutheran's hunger (via Peace in the Desert Church), which helped support this project over the past three years. In addition, Living Water Lutheran collected 720 boxes of cereal in July for Foothills Food Bank. The NEVC heat respite project has, over the past three years, demonstrated again that working consortially allows us to do more (and to do so more effectively) than we could do alone.

Peace in the Desert has elected not to provide funds to NEVC for 2027 heat respite, looking instead for strong buy-in from NEVC congregations. Thanks to generous New Journey in-kind donations in 2025 (approximately $650) and 2026 (approximately $945), we have designated hunger funds to carry forward for 2027 and 2028 to help support at least three lunch packs, a water pallet, and electrolyte powder should New Journey elect to continue its heat respite tradition.