Author: Sara Beth Williams

By Sara Beth Williams–
The Sunrise Christian Food Ministry will be temporarily closed for two weeks, according to the food closet’s director.

Beginning on March 24, the food closet will be closed through April 4 while Advent Lutheran Church repairs and replaces the campus driveways and parking lots, Sunrise Christian Food Ministry Director of Operations April Jacek confirmed last Wednesday. Jacek added that all updated information can be found on the food closet’s website at www.sunrisechristianfoodministry.org.

Anyone in need of food resources can call 211 to find other food closets or agencies nearby that can help.

During regular operation, the Sunrise Christian Food Ministry food closet is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and Wednesday evenings between 5 and 6:30 p.m.

Since the onset of the pandemic, the food closet now operates in a drive-thru format, and families can enter the lower parking lot at 11 a.m., where they register with a volunteer who enters their information into the database through a tablet. Those seeking food resources can wait in their vehicles.

Prior to the pandemic, Jacek said clients walked up to the food pantry and waited in line in all types of weather before being able to register in person and then receive food. According to a 2019-2020 update on the ministry’s website, the facility was serving an estimated 70 to 80 families per day in 2019, and clients were required to be residents of Citrus Heights.

At the onset of the pandemic lock down, Sacramento County closed 201 emergency food distribution agencies, but 24 essential agencies were allowed to remain open, including Sunrise Christian Food Ministry. Sacramento Food Bank, which contracts with various farms, began receiving increased quantities of food, but because they weren’t able to supply all 225 agencies, they focused on supplying the 24 essential agencies, ensuring that the food closet had plenty to give to a sharp rise in need. According to the ministry’s website, by the summer of 2020, the food ministry was serving between 100 and 120 families.

With the new drive-thru format, Jacek said registration is much faster, clients do not have to wait in inclement weather, and the ministry has consistently been serving 200 families per day.

The facility also began offering emergency bags of food in a to-go format for unhoused individuals, who are allowed to come to the center once per day to pick up the bag.

Other clients are allowed to pick up food for their family once per month, but the food closet also provides an emergency food supply once per week. The standard amount of food available per month includes multiple perishable and nonperishable food items such as fruits and vegetables, frozen meats, pastas, canned goods and desserts. A bag of emergency food supplies comes with peanut butter, instant pastas like mac and cheese, dried fruit, and a selection of canned goods.

In the last two years, Sunrise Christian Food Ministry has also partnered with multiple agencies and launched new outreach programs, their website said, including a homeless outreach that brings food and supplies to the unhoused, partnering with Sayonara Center and Vintage Oaks Senior Living Community, and partnering with 211 and United Way, Ride United. The United Way program allows the food closet to deliver, within a 10-mile radius, food boxes to home-bound seniors with the assistance of DoorDash.

The Sunrise Christian Food Ministry is located at Advent Lutheran Church at 5901 San Juan Ave. in Citrus Heights.

By Sara Beth Williams–
Nahtima Wyant, her boyfriend Gary Hurd, and their four children and two dogs, were all recently displaced in a house fire that occurred early on Saturday, March 15 in Citrus Heights. The fire destroyed everything they owned and killed one of the family’s dogs.

In an interview with The Sentinel, Wyant said the future feels very uncertain, but she’s holding out hope. The family had just moved into the home as renters, and Wyant was in the process of bringing a load of belongings back to the house.

Prior to moving in, Wyant said she purchased multiple appliances and furniture for the home and had used up all of her savings to pay for the deposit and new belongings to fill the house. Now, the family is trying to rebuild and figure out the next step. A GoFundMe page has been established for the family to help raise money for housing.

The fire occurred in the early morning hours on a Saturday. Wyant said her daughters and youngest son had friends sleeping over for the night. She was not home when her daughter contacted her, frantic, saying that the house was on fire. Wyant said her daughters and their friends, four in total, broke through a window to escape their bedroom, which was filling with smoke.

On the other side of the house, her youngest son woke up and, while walking into the kitchen, discovered that the house was already partially on fire. He woke up the rest of the people in the house, and they escaped through the front door. The family then reunited outside, but one of the daughters’ dogs never made it out of the house.

Later, Wyant said she discovered that a floor vent in the laundry room, which was located right next to her daughter’s room, had caused the fire after a large pile of bags was moved on top of the vent earlier in the night.

“This rocked our world,” Wyant said, adding that the Red Cross had provided housing in a motel in Rancho Cordova for several days. She said they are now paying out of pocket to continue staying at the motel because they have nowhere else to go yet. Wyant has applied for housing and indicated that she was displaced involuntarily by a disaster, hoping it might move her up on the list.

Hurd is also continuing to work but Wyant is unable to work without a laptop, which was destroyed in the fire, she said. Hurd is a handyman.

“Something will happen; God’s going to open up the door,” Wyant said, adding that her kids are devastated, but she continues to try and encourage them.

Though the family has lost almost all of their material possessions, their most immediate need is housing, Wyant said. Wyant’s brother, Royal Corralejo, who lives in the Bay Area with his wife, set up a GoFundMe page to help. The money will be used specifically for moving costs and a deposit, if needed, on another rental home.

As of Thursday, Wyant was still attempting to contact the owner of the home and did not know whether the owner had homeowner’s insurance. The family had been acquaintances with the property manager, who lived on the same lot in another structure and had helped them move in, Wyant said. According to real estate site Zillow, the three-bedroom, two-bath home sits on a 1.45-acre lot along with a detached two-car garage and workshop.

“You have to be thankful we’re here. We didn’t lose one person. But the Lord did not take everything that I couldn’t live without. I could live without everything I lost, but I could never live without my children. I thank God that He protected my children,” Wyant said.

Fundraiser disclaimer: The Sentinel urges readers to use discernment in giving money to online fundraisers. Stories on The Sentinel may reference fundraiser pages as sources of information, but The Sentinel cannot assure that funds donated will be applied for the benefit of the person(s) named as beneficiaries.

By Sara Beth Williams–
A local middle school teacher is among the top contestants in a national competition with a grand prize offering of $25,000 and a trip to Hawaii.

Riley Goode, who teaches English and history at Sylvan Middle School in Citrus Heights, has slowly been climbing in popularity in the running for America’s Favorite Teacher, thanks to support from her school community. Goode currently sits third out of the top 10 in her group as of Saturday. Community members can cast their vote for Goode at this link.

In an interview, Goode said she would love to use the prize money of $25,000 to take her students on a field trip to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose.

“Egypt is a very large unit in my curriculum, and I know students would love to see artifacts,” Goode said, noting there is a real mummy on display.

Goode also said she would like to pay off her student loans and car loan so she can begin saving for the purchase of a house.

The winner of the contest will also receive a trip to Hawaii and a special appearance from Bill Nye the Science Guy, who will come to the winning teacher’s school for an assembly. The winner will also be featured in Reader’s Digest.

Goode said her students, the school administration, and her school community have all been excited and supportive of her and have encouraged the community to vote through handing out flyers and sending out emails.

Goode has taught at Sylvan Middle School for two years and taught at a private elementary school in Davis for two years prior, before deciding that elementary teaching wasn’t for her, she said.

When asked about why she became a teacher, Goode said she wanted to become a support and an advocate for students.

“I realized during my own education that I had a privilege that many students across the United States do not have: a supportive and engaged adult at home,” Goode said. “I’m there to tell them I’m proud and, more importantly, to tell them, ‘You should be proud of yourself” when they overcome academic or personal obstacles.”

The winner of America’s Favorite Teacher is decided solely on votes from community members. All teachers in the running are placed in various groups, Goode explained, adding that her group started with 84 and then she made it into the top 20, based on the number of votes each teacher received.

According to the competition’s website, each week the list of teachers is reduced based on the number of votes received from the public. By March 28, the list will be cut to the top five, and by April 3, the list will be eliminated to one preliminary winner, who will advance to the quarterfinals round.

In the quarterfinals and all subsequent rounds following, votes are reset each time. The quarterfinals begin April 7 and will last 10 days. One winner from each quarterfinal group will move on to the semifinals round, which runs from April 18-24, and winners from that round will enter the final round of public voting, which begins April 25th and ends on May 1.

The grand prize winner will be announced on or around May 31, according to the competition’s website.