By Emmanuel T. Erediano
emmanuel@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
THE Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation on Friday presented the Salvation Army with a $10,000 donation to help feed the islands’ needy and vulnerable residents.
SNILD Chairman Rep. John Paul Sablan gave the check to Salvation Army ministry leader Pastor Wayne Gillespie in the presence of other Saipan lawmakers prior to the delegation session at 10 a.m.
Gillespie told the delegation, “We want to thank you all for your generous support, and we assure you — not just in words but in action — that your funds were used to feed Saipan’s most needy and vulnerable.” The Salvation Army distributed bags of food the following day and will distribute more on Thanksgiving.
In an interview, Gillespie said the organization greatly appreciates SNILD for providing financial resources. “We were losing a bit of sleep over all this,” he said.
The Salvation Army regularly serves CNMI residents through its food assistance program. With the struggling local economy, the recent federal government shutdown, and the possibility of food stamp recipients losing their benefits, “we needed to go above and beyond what we normally do,” Gillespie said.
“The question was, where are the resources? So we were worried,” he added.
Despite the challenges, they stepped up and began distributing food. On Nov. 8, 2025, they served 200 families who were at risk of losing their food stamp benefits, in addition to the 246 meals distributed as part of their regular services.
Gillespie said clients were scheduled through the end of Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, to ensure food stamp recipients would have access to food. He noted that these benefits have since been restored. However, when the Salvation Army publicly announced they would assist food stamp recipients who might miss their benefits, the organization was deluged with families who do not receive food stamps but were in desperate need.
Gillespie said he received thousands of text messages and phone calls from families, eventually reaching a point where he could no longer take calls. “It took several days to catch up on all the text messages asking for food assistance, but we finally did,” he said.
Their prayers were answered when SNILD contacted them to announce the $10,000 donation to the Salvation Army’s food assistance program.
Gillespie said that as soon as he hung up the phone, he contacted food wholesalers and ordered pallets of food.
“And we like to get the food into the hands of the people who need it most as quickly as we possibly can,” Gillespie said.
Emmanuel “Arnold” Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast.
