Deborah Conner,
Interim Associate Pastor for Outreach
Has there ever been a time in your life when you wondered where your next meal would come from? Did you ever have to make a choice between filling a prescription or buying food? Did you ever have to skip a meal so that your child could eat?
Most of us don’t know what it’s like to be hungry. Unless you grew up in poverty, you probably have always had a full refrigerator with fresh food or had a grocery store nearby where you could buy whatever you needed. But, what would life be like if you didn’t make enough money to buy nutritious food? Or you lived in a food desert and the closest place to buy food was a mini mart? There are many factors that contribute to hunger in our community.
Current statistics in Guilford County state that 1 in 5 residents are food insecure and 2 out of 3 public school children qualify for free or reduced meals. There are 24 food deserts in the Greensboro/High Point area, and we are 14th in the U.S. for food insecurity. We know there is a need and that is why for most of our history as a church we have been very intentional about feeding the hungry.
This past Saturday about 150 people gathered in Mullin Life Center to pack food with the Out of the Garden Project. This organization provides fresh food to families in the Piedmont Triad so they can grow, learn, and thrive. When we partner with them we feed families, build community and create opportunity. Typically, we pack 40,000 meals every time we hold a Neil’s Meal’s event. Can you imagine!
I am so blessed to serve a church that loves its neighbors in this way. We not only provide food we also offer hope. Our reaching out into the community is part of sharing the love of Jesus with others. Jesus said: Whatever you do for the least of these my brothers and sisters, you do for me. (Matthew 25)
Thanks for being the hands and feet of Christ!
