The Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) doesn’t tell ghost stories. SoSA brings people together to harvest and share healthy food, reduce food waste, and build caring communities by offering nourishment to hungry neighbors.

A recent news article highlighted a person in Oklahoma, whose heart may have been in the right place, but their methods needed improvement.

This person, Mr. H., distributed USDA Farmers to Families Food Boxes to a community in Oklahoma. As a part of the process, this person provided what is being called a “sermon” and/or a “ghost story”. No matter what the process is called, promoting a specific religion or set of religious beliefs during a food distribution is not a permitted part of any SoSA food distribution event. 

Faith and religion are at the core of SoSA’s organizational values and yet it does not promote religion, religious beliefs, or pamphlets/tracts/literature at food distributions.

Would you like to know why not?

SoSA believes that food is a basic, human right and a necessity. Access to a consistent supply of adequate food, both in quantity and quality, should not be contingent on acceptance or even acknowledgment of a particular religion or faith. SoSA believes that commingling proselytizing and emergency food assistance is detrimental, as there will be people with significant needs who might not accept, believe, approve, or acknowledge a particular faith. And we do not want anyone to miss out on a basic human right because of a disagreement over religious truth.

If you would like to know more about SoSA’s beliefs as an organization, those can be found on this website. And if you’re in need of food, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a local hunger-relief agency, or contact us and we can help direct you toward local resources. 

SoSA specifically seeks opportunities to partner with USDA Farmers to Families Distributors to share from the wealth of experience afforded by 42 years in the hunger-relief realm. While the program is not perfect, it’s an incredibly important way to ensure that millions of people received fresh food at a time when times seemed hopeless.

P.S. – If you would like to read the article mentioned above, you can do so by visiting The Counter’s website here.