By Cheryl Sloan Wray
It’s often during this time of year that the hunger problem gets special attention. Baptist ministry leaders and volunteers are mindful, though, that it is a year-round issue.
According to Sandy Wood, ministry coordinator for the North American Mission Board’s ministry and servant evangelism unit, the current statistics about hunger in America are disturbing and present a strong challenge to missions-minded Baptists. She said that more than 34 million Americans are exposed to the threat of hunger, while 11 million people actually experience hunger each year.
In Alabama, the statistics are just as sobering. According to Martha Faupel, executive director of the Food Bank of East Alabama in Auburn, more than 15 percent of Alabama residents (and one out of every five children) live in poverty and 13 percent of Alabamians face “food insecurity” (meaning they have limited or uncertain access to enough food for a healthy life).
Wood said that one of the most effective ways to battle hunger is for churches to form hunger ministries in their community. These ministries take the form of food pantries, soup kitchens, lunch sacks, bags of groceries, food drives or vouchers for purchasing groceries. “These ministries provide churches unique opportunities to share with others the Bread of Life, along with bread for living,” she said.
The Food for Friends ministry, organized by Birmingham Baptist Association, is designed to help the hungry, most of which are homeless, during the holiday season. Food for Friends prepares meals for the homeless during the Thanksgiving and Easter weekends and serves them under the viaduct at First Avenue North and 26th Street in Birmingham. The ministry, which started in 1991, serves about 3,000 meals during the four-day Thanksgiving weekend. Some of the meals are served to the same people throughout the weekend.
Food for Friends depends on the help of volunteers from Birmingham Association churches. Church members donate perishable and nonperishable foods and hygiene items; they also volunteer to serve at three breakfast shifts Thursday through Sunday and lunch shifts Friday and Saturday.
Scott Guffin, pastor of Liberty Park Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, volunteered during the Easter event earlier this year. “We sat down with them one-on-one, talked with them, heard their stories and tried to find opportunities to share the gospel.”
Others work year-round to help individuals and families fight hunger’s sting. At NorthPark Baptist Church, Trussville, in Birmingham Association, a ministry called DOWNTOWN organizes volunteers to feed the homeless in downtown Birmingham monthly.
According to Amy Bond, evangelism ministry assistant at NorthPark Baptist, the volunteers also prepare, deliver and serve food on the second Tuesday of the month. “We have a team of volunteers who spend the afternoon cooking and preparing the meal, usually something like lasagna or taco salad,” she said. “They then load it in their cars and drive it downtown. Sometimes they’ll also take hygiene bags or blankets to distribute.”
The ministry, which has been in place at NorthPark for about six years, is coordinated by church member D’onne Salmon. “When I was asked to help with this ministry I never dreamed that after helping a couple of times, that I would become the coordinator,” Salmon said. “I found out very quickly that I had a heart and passion for the homeless and that this was a way that I could serve the Lord.
“Our volunteers are always humbled by the experience and come away thankful that we go home to a warm bed,” she said. “It really makes you appreciate the things you have.”
Salmon said she is also impressed with the appreciation of those who receive the food. “They are always waiting on us and help us unload the food when we get to the site.”
At Whitesburg Baptist Church, Huntsville, in Madison Baptist Association, members reach out through several ministries through the church’s community ministries program, which includes a food pantry, clothes closet and assistance with rent and utilities.
David Loyed, community outreach minister, said the program opened his and other members’ eyes to the problem of hunger in Madison County. “The hunger problem in our area is much larger than I am sure any of us can actually fathom,” he said. “Since our food pantry opened a year and a half ago, we have been amazed at the amount of people that are in need of food.”
In a typical month more than 100 people are helped with food, 500 with clothes and close to another 100 with utility, rent and other needs.
Another way many Baptist churches reach out to the hungry in their community is through communitywide ministries, such as the West Alabama Food Bank (WAFB) in Tuscaloosa. Craig Young, executive director of the WAFB, said churches — including several Alabama Baptist churches — provide financial and volunteer assistance in distributing food that has been donated or bought at wholesale prices. Those who receive assistance must have an income 130 percent below the poverty level. There are currently about 50,000 people in need of the services provided by the food bank, which serves nine counties.
During the holiday season — as well as all other seasons of the year — those who help with hunger ministries say that the blessings from reaching out in this way are numerous.
Loyed said his church’s hunger program has blessed its volunteers and left a lasting impression on the people who are helped.
“We have people … who come in our doors feeling like they are at the end of their rope. They have absolutely no hope left at all,” he said. “The majority of people leave here with a smile on their face and a renewed sense of encouragement. Not only do we assist people financially, most importantly we assist each person that comes in our doors spiritually.”
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