Chick-fil-A owner/operator Mark Meadows said his love language is acts of service and, judging by his actions, “service” is indeed a language he speaks fluently.
During the winter storm in January 2014 that left people trapped in their cars on Birmingham roads for hours trying to get home, Meadows — who happened to be out on a catering delivery — handed out boxed meals to thankful and hungry travelers. This year when a homeless man stopped by Meadows’ Chick-fil-A restaurant asking for food, Meadows not only provided him with a warm meal, but also with his own gloves.
To Meadows, though, these acts were no-brainers and he believed they were because of God’s timing and plans for him.
“If I hadn’t had that delivery last year that took me down Highway 280, I never would have been able to give out all that food,” he said. Meadows called the woman who was supposed to receive the delivery when it became apparent he wouldn’t make it to her home. Instead of going to waste, the meals went to use in a perfect way.
Regarding the man who stopped at the restaurant recently, Meadows said it was a very cold day and the man kept wringing his hands, in obvious pain from the weather.
“I asked him to take my gloves — I had a pair sitting nearby on the counter that I handed him — and at first he was hesitant but eventually took them,” he said. “I didn’t know it until afterward, but a woman who was eating in the restaurant with her son had taken a picture of the event. She came up to me crying afterward telling me she’d used it as a teaching moment for her son.”
Meadows’ outreach both in 2014 and recently earned him recognition in local press and on social media but he said it’s all part of being a follower of Christ.
Audrey Pitt, marketing director and office manager for Meadows at Inverness Chick-fil-A, said, “Mark lives out biblical principles every day in his interactions with people. To watch him be who he is makes it clear that nothing he does is for his own recognition — it truly is just who he is. He’s gotten a lot of recognition for a few things he’s done, but there are lots of other stories that people don’t know about because he does the right thing even when no one is watching.”
Meadows said because he’s in the restaurant industry his favorite Bible story is about Jesus feeding the 5,000.
“Just think about it, how after everyone was fed they would have gone back to their homes and told everyone about what had happened,” said Meadows, who is a member of Church of the Highlands. “We are all called into full-time Christian work.”
Pitt, who has been working with Meadows for more than a decade, said giving seems innate to Meadows, who has a policy that their restaurant always feed people who come in hungry.
“Principles like ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ are simply second-nature to him,” Pitt said. “Not only that, but he has created a culture within his store that empowers his team to do the same. He reminds me that there’s still a lot more good in the world than there is bad.”
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