For more than three and a half decades, the Zion Church of God in St. John’s, Antigua, has carried out a quiet but critical mission: rolling back food insecurity by serving hot, nutritious meals to vulnerable residents across the island. This long-running community outreach effort just received a meaningful upgrade, thanks to a generous joint donation from the Lions Club of Antigua and local business Cool & Smooth Store.
The two organizations have gifted the church a brand-new refrigerator valued at 8,500 Eastern Caribbean dollars, officially handed over during a small presentation at the church’s North Street location. The new appliance will play a central role in the feeding programme, expanding the church’s capacity to safely store ingredients and keep prepared meals fresh before they reach community members in need.
The partnership between the Zion Church of God and the Lions Club of Antigua is not a new one. For years, the service club has been a core supporter of the feeding initiative, contributing more than 21,000 Eastern Caribbean dollars to the programme every single year. Beyond financial backing, the club also supplies fresh, homegrown produce harvested from its own community garden on Upper Church Street, and its members regularly step in to help volunteers deliver meals across the community each week.
On a typical Wednesday, church volunteers prepare more than 45 hot lunches for people experiencing food insecurity. With the added storage space and reliability of the new refrigerator, the programme will now be able to expand its reach, serving more vulnerable residents than ever before. Volunteers with the church expressed deep gratitude for the ongoing commitment of both the Lions Club and Cool & Smooth Store, noting that the donation advances shared work to cut hunger and support struggling members of the Antiguan community.