Last summer, Hugh Richardson, director of missions (DOM) for Shelby Baptist Association, and Keith Brown, director of church community ministries for Shelby Association, drove hundreds of miles delivering donations and supplies to relief workers in Tuscaloosa County still dealing with the aftermath of the April tornadoes. All the while, they knew that the next time such a need arose, their approach would be different.
Months earlier, Brown had placed an order with a custom trailer company for a mobile pantry. Inspired by Baldwin Baptist Association DOM Rick Barnhart, who converted a semitrailer into a portable distribution point after the 2010 Gulf oil spill, he saw the 20-by-8.5 trailer he ordered as a way to extend his association’s food ministry to underserved areas of Shelby County.
“We were looking for a way to assist our churches with food needs in their communities,” Brown said. “Our volunteers operate what we call The Daily Bread Shop in Columbiana, but that only covers one corner of the county. With the trailer, we can carry up to four tons of food to any church where members can assist their neighbors locally. We train the teams who operate the mobile pantry to assess needs and to share the gospel with the families and individuals that they help.”
The trailer is outfitted with a variety of cabinets, racks for 1,300 cans of food, two freezers and a retractable awning used for intake and counseling. Food and money for stocking the mobile pantry are donated by Shelby Association churches, schools, civic groups and area businesses.
“We’re pleased with the reception we’re getting in our churches,” Brown said. “One unexpected result has been that church members who are facing tough times are also receiving assistance. We’re seeing both outreach and ministry to our church families.”
The Jan. 23 tornadoes and severe storms that swept across the state created an opportunity for the mobile pantry to venture down a new path — emergency assistance.
“Days after the storms, Keith called me and offered to bring the trailer to Center Point,” recalled Bobby Earls, pastor of First Baptist Church, Center Point, in Birmingham Baptist Association. “I saw it in operation at Clay Ridge Baptist Church on Feb. 20, and we’ve scheduled to have it at [First, Center Point] on March 13. We’ve put the word out through our church website and Facebook page and on the Center Point disaster relief page. This is a great resource, and we want to make sure people know about it.”
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