If your church wants to welcome poor or working class families, have you considered providing nutritious food along with your activities for children and youth?
A few years ago, I was listening to the child of an immigrant family recite Bible verses during AWANA on a Wednesday night. She had studied at home. She was wearing the club t-shirt we had provided. She had remembered to bring her Bible.
At the end of club, I walked her over to the prize table to redeem her rewards. She looked past the sparkly pencils and bouncy-balls and instead chose a packet of square cheese-flavored crackers. I watched as she divided it with her two younger siblings. The three children inhaled them, and the youngest boy, with an orange crumb still hanging on his lip, asked, āDo you have any more?ā
His request felt like something more than childish indulgence, so we started chatting. The children had not eaten anything that day but a school lunch and a handful of chips when they had gotten home. Their hard-working parents, both minimum-wage earners, were already at their day jobs when the kids left for school in the morning, and they were at their secondary jobs when someone picked them up for church.
Until that moment, I had unconsciously assumed that hungry people looked hungry. These kids were neat, clean, and polite. Had they looked bedraggled, I might have picked up on their need sooner.
We discovered that several children in our church faced similar circumstances. Immigrant parents were working 16 hours per day or more, and food available in the home was hit or miss. Some Wednesday nights, the kids had eaten, but other times, they had not.
Sometimes, even children of families with more money tumbled through the doors without a solid meal, as they had been in after-school care or in other activities until minutes before the start of club. Their overly scheduled parents may have given them a granola bar or a banana to hold them over until later.
We decided to start feeding tummies in addition to feeding hearts, minds, and souls. Behavior problems decreased. Focus and enthusiasm in the lessons increased. Parents thanked us. Children started inviting their friends.
Providing a meal during classes and activities may be easier and more affordable than you think.
Several parents at our church gladly signed up to provide prepared food for a week or two throughout the year. For the Wednesday nights not covered by donations, we found take-out pizza that cost the church approximately $1 per child.
I know a church that includes a āJesus and Cheeriosā component in every Sunday School class. They invite church members to contribute bowls, spoons, Cheerios, and milk, and a volunteer manages set-up and clean-up of this simple meal.
With volunteer help in the kitchen and in planning, a church can do even better, both financially and nutritionally.
Many local businesses donate food to non-profit organizations for compassionate purposes. They may require a written request with specific verification information, and someone needs to commit to picking the food up and storing it. But once you get on the list, you can pick up the donations at regularly set times.
Free food is not always nutritious food, at least not on its own. Much of it is baked goods like breads and pastries that are nearing their expiration, and people with limited resources are probably already eating plenty of those types of empty carbs (and pasta abounds). Could your church afford to add protein and vegetables?
You may find a business happy to donate meats and vegetables. These items are also usually nearing expiration, and the specific foods donated may be hard to predict from week to week. A church where I served as assistant pastor received 50 pounds of cherries one week and 50 pounds of radishes the next, and it was a blessing to have an adaptable church volunteer who could make quick decisions about how best to serve and store the donations right away. You’ll need someone like that.
Are there seniors or home groups in your church looking for new ways to serve? Invite them to feed children, and they will be glad you did.
Do you have an outreach budget? Consider feeding hungry childrenālocal onesāas part of your compassionate giving and involvement.
Of course, the needs of working parents and the scarcity of food at home are bigger matters than just one or two meals a week at church, and you may be considering how you can help even more. Your best move is not to reinvent the wheel. Instead, do some research and find out who in your community is already active and knowledgeable in addressing these needs, and explore ways to partner well with them.
At the least, if you want your church to be a welcoming place for poor or working-class families, start on your own premises and in your own existing programs by giving bread along with the bread of life.
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An earlier version of this post was first published in 2016 on the Leadership Network blog (formerly ChurchCentral.com).
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