For more than 15 years, Grace United Methodist Church in Franklin, IN, has marked the Christmas season with a potato drop. Each year, the church schedules a truckload of potatoes from SoSA to be delivered a few weeks before the holiday, so they can share food with a local agency that distributes Christmas meal kits and give plenty more away directly to neighbors.
Over the years, the drop has become something the entire community looks forward to, a sign that Christmas is near and that help is here. But in December 2025, the tradition faced a sudden test.
The night before the drop, the forklift company canceled. Without a forklift, there was no way to unload the tractor-trailer filled with pallets of potatoes. Hundreds of families were counting on that food. Christmas meal kits depended on them. AND a winter storm was fast approaching.
Pastor Joe Sanford did what strong community leaders do: he asked for help. He put out a call to the community on Facebook and by phone, and enlisted the entire church’s help. SoSA staff in Indiana put their Friday night plans on hold to reach out to anyone they could, trying to find a forklift and a backup plan in case the snow ruined distribution plans.
By the next morning, eight local businesses, farms, and stores had offered to help. One local farmer not only brought a forklift, but he brought one even better than the original AND volunteered to help again next year.
Amid logistical chaos and gathering snow clouds, volunteers sprang into action on Saturday morning, racing against time. Together, they unloaded, organized, and gave away the potatoes before the storm hit.
By Saturday evening, more than six inches of snow blanketed Franklin, but by then, the potatoes were already in the hands of neighbors.
Because of your generosity, Grace UMC shared 40,000 pounds of potatoes with neighbors in greatest need just before Christmas. The food didn’t stay in a warehouse or sit on a truck. It wasn’t delayed. The event didn’t get canceled. The food was shared.
These moments show what makes the Society of St. Andrew’s work so powerful. It isn’t just trucks and pallets. It’s a partnership. It’s long-standing relationships. It’s a church community and SoSA staff willing to make one more phone call. It’s farmers stepping up before sunrise. It’s volunteers who don’t turn back when snow is on the way. It’s your financial support that funds the trucks, staff, and backup plans.
Your generosity strengthens local connections long before a crisis hits. Because you give, neighbors’ needs are met, even when the weather and circumstances try to stand in the way.
This article was originally published in the Winter 2026 Quarterly Newsletter.