Churches Touching Lives for Christ nourishes hope one meal at a time

By AMY ROGNLIE | Photos courtesy of CTLC

“We hear so much about sorrow and suffering and evil in the world, it gives me hope to see the work done here every day by our volunteers,” says Paula Tanner, executive director of Churches Touching Lives for Christ, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary of service to Bell County residents. “I am proud to be associated with the men and women who volunteer at CTLC, who give their time and talents to help people in need.”

CTLC was founded 30 years ago by a coalition of Temple churches who wanted to be more effective in addressing the problem of hunger in our community and, thereby, to show the love of God to people in need. In 1998, the organization acquired permanent facilities in Temple and is now supported by more than 30 area churches and numerous business and social service organizations. It serves all rural areas within east Bell County. The ministry is an all-volunteer organization and owns the building that houses their distribution center, so their overhead costs are low. All of this makes it possible for their donors to know that when they donate to CTLC, their gifts will be used to buy food for people who do not have enough to eat.

CTLC is the largest all-volunteer food pantry in Central Texas, serving more than 2,000 families per month who need food assistance on a temporary and/or emergency basis. The ministry also distributed more than 24,000 pieces of clothing in 2024 — everything from clothes for growing school children to warm coats for homeless men and women. All are given free of charge, thanks to the generosity of folks throughout the community who support the ministry’s work. CTLC clients enjoy “shopping” for their own clothing every Thursday at the distribution center, perusing the neatly hung and sized clothing and choosing up to 10 items per person per month. Clients may also choose household items, toys and baby equipment such as strollers and highchairs, as needed, for their families and children.

The ministry also partners with Temple Independent School District to provide bags of food each weekend to nearly 900 Temple ISD children who lack sufficient food at home. TISD counselors identify students of all ages who would otherwise go without food on the weekends, and CTLC volunteers gather each week throughout the school year to assemble the bags, which have been dubbed “Happy Bags” by the students.

“Many folks don’t realize how important it is to provide this food for students, particularly the high school students, because if they don’t have enough food to eat, they are tempted to quit school and get a job,” Tanner said. “There are a good number of homeless or food-insecure children, and we want them to be healthy and do their best in school.”

Over the last two years, the number of families seeking food aid from CTLC has grown from about 1,600 per month to more than 2,000 households. This growth is consistent with what other food pantries are experiencing across the United States. To keep up with demand, CTLC recently purchased another used refrigerated shipping container to hold chilled produce and meat until they can be distributed. This one-time purchase will enable the pantry to accept more chilled foods and keep them in good condition.

“We cannot help with all of the issues involved with the growing need, but we can work hard to prevent food waste and share as much food as we can with people in our community who do not have enough to eat,” Tanner said. “We are proud to be a part of the Central Texas/Bell County community because we see that there is genuine concern for the hardships faced by the homeless and those in our community whose incomes are not sufficient to cover the basic costs of food, clothing and housing. We look to the teachings of Jesus Christ, who taught that when we seek the well-being of our neighbors, we are sharing the love of God.”

Churches Touching Lives For Christ
Address: 702 W Avenue G in Temple
Mailing address: CTLC, P.O. Box 5, Temple, TX 76503
Phone: 254-231-5070
Website: www.ctlcministries.org