Nativity Lutheran Church, on Old County Road, in Rockport, has long been actively involved in supporting the mission of Area Interfaith Outreach (AIO) food pantry and emergency assistance, according to AIO, in a news release.

Church members volunteer at the food pantry, stocking shelves and freezers, shopping with clients, and driving to collect food donations from local grocery stores, and have served as day manager and board president.

Further, since it began, AIO’s Weekend Backpack Program has used Nativity’s lower level for food storage and the Thursday assembly lines, hosting more than two dozen community volunteers who fill bags with food for up to 400 children in Knox County schools. 

As the pandemic began, Nativity collected special gifts for AIO from its members and was able to present a check for more than $1,600 in support of AIO’s mission in the community.