As a partner agency of Second Harvest, the Benevolence Center receives food donations from grocery and discount stores all around Lake County. Benevolence Center trucks make daily trips to participating stores to collect meat, bread, produce, eggs and packaged foods to stock the warehouse. Volunteers unload the donations and stock the shelves, refrigerators and freezers. Our food and clothing ministry serves the four residential facilities of the Christian Care Center with over 90,000 meals each year, Lake County residents in need and community partners who serve veterans, children, the elderly and other at-risk individuals.

The Benevolence Center services are free and available to all Lake County residents. On the first visit, a counselor begins a client chart with family information and documentation. Our appointment based system allows clients to meet with a counselor once per month to determine their current needs, make referrals for needs that are outside the scope of the Benevolence Center and offer to pray with them for any concerns that they may share.

Volunteers then select and package five days worth of food for each family, taking into account the number and ages of children, living situation and any dietary restrictions. Special care is taken to ensure that each client leaves with the necessities for at least five days of nutritious meals, as well as snacks and treats.

Clothing and household items are donated by partners from the surrounding community. Volunteers sort, clean and prepare these items for display in the clothes closet. Each client is able to select up to eight items of clothing per family member at each appointment. Dishes, bedding and other household items are available by request.