FHL Mobile Food Pantry

History of FHL Food Pantry

March 2, 2014 Merlin Gonzales FHL Food Pantry, FHL Mobile Food Pantry

The early years of FHL Food Pantries

In the fall of 2006, Merlin Gonzales and a few volunteers agreed to do the first FHL Mobile Food Pantry. FHL partnered with a Hispanic business that allowed us to give the food in the grocery store. One of our partners owned one of the Latino newspapers in town and she did a half-page ad at no cost to us.

The pantry attracted almost 100 families. The first pantry had less than 10 volunteers but was able to give a lot of grocery items from a food bank and other sources. For the next 2 years, FHL food pantries were held in churches, schools and parking lots. FHL did not have problems in attracting recipients because of the follow up system.

After 2 years, FHL introduced prayers at pantries. The recipients seem open and soon it became a regular part of each pantry. Through the process of partnering with different organizations at different locations, FHL developed procedures overtime. The leaders learned how to interact with different denominations, ethnic groups and traditions. The Lord walked the organization through many on-the-job training that were vital to the development creative evangelism. The leaders learned more how to interact with the different segments of our society.

However, setting up and tearing down of food pantry sites at different location became a hindrance to serve more people and to share the Gospel. The idea of starting a food pantry at churches and other sites became obvious. FHL would be able to serve more people and would be able to share its experience with others.

The informal training and partnership emerged. Horizon Christian Fellowship Central was the first food pantry that FHL helped start. It is now a vital part of the Fountain Square neighborhood in Indianapolis.

Through prayers and hard work, God had birth the FHL Food Pantry Incubation. It is now that mission of FHL to incubate food pantries in central Indiana.

The FHL Food Pantry School became a work in progress document. In the class, you will learn that practical and spiritual application of the Bible. You will see that your friends and/or congregation can be a part of the tapestry of a food pantry. Young and old, rich and poor has a place in a food pantry such as the Outreach Team, Prayer Team and Community Relations Team.

An idea of feeding the hungry and reaching out to those in need had evolved to be a powerful tool to engage the community in sharing the love of God. The end result is that the hungry are fed, the Gospel is being shared and more people are becoming Christ-like in their communities. The food pantries are becoming missional communities.

The only one of its kind

June 10, 2013 Merlin Gonzales Backyard Missions, FHL Mobile Food Pantry

As I was looking today at the FHL web responses that we recently had from around the country, and after researching, I found out that FHL is the only one of its kind that intentionally incubates self sustained food pantries in the US.

Here’s how FHL does it:

Identification of food pantry sites
Classroom and onsite classes (8 sessions)
- Based on:
  - Acts 6 – Organized food distribution
  - Mark 16 – Sharing the Gospel
  - Matthew 28 – Discipling the nation
Provides training and grocery items to the pantries for up to 6 months to help them become self-sustained
In most instances, the food pantries experience more salvations during the food distributions than when the church (a food pantry site) hold their weekend services. For example, one of FHL food pantries, Luz de Vida, (a church with less than 20 members) had 3 salvations in February, 6 in March, 1 in April and 1 in May of this year!

I have written in detail how the “Grassroots Movement in the Kingdom” in my book, The Kingdom in our Midst. I will share with you the details next week.

With the gas prices that continues to increase, more food assistance are needed in our cities. Unfortunately, the poor gets hit the hardest. The income/wages remains almost the same in the past few years, so when you divide the household pie (income) there’s less for food and for other necessities due to increasing fuel prices that jacks up the prices of mostly all commodities.

This year’s FHL Week (July 21-28) theme is “Help feed the hungry in your own backyard”. Below is a list of simple things you can get involved with:

Food Drives/Collections – Your church or your places of work and/or business can do food drives/collections during FHL Week. Another way to be a part of food collection is to help us get your neighborhoods involved. By hanging food collection bags on the door knobs, you can address hunger in our city.
Urban Garden starts or maintenance – FHL partners with organizations who are directly involved in gardening. During FHL Week, you can come alongside us to do some gardening.
Volunteer at a food pantry – You can support some of our pantries through volunteerism or through your financial support.
Volunteer at other food organizations – FHL connects volunteers, resources and needs; you can get involved in serving the FHL food partners and sponsors.

John Mott, a Nobel Peace Prize Winner once said, “The person who does the work is not as productive as the one who multiplies the workers.” Faith Hope and Love is an organization that multiplies not only the workers but also the resources. I am appealing to you to help us answer the hunger problem by partnering with FHL in incubating self-sustained food pantries. By the end of July 2013, FHL should have planted 13 food pantries altogether. Currently, FHL is directly supporting 5 food pantries.

Please consider contributing or sponsoring a food pantry that provides physical and spiritual food to the least, the lost and the last. You can respond to this Blog or email [email protected] to find out how you can be a part of this innovative approach to feed the hungry.

Here’s what’s happening

September 26, 2012 Merlin Gonzales FHL Indiana, FHL Mobile Food Pantry, Kindness Weekends

My last written Blog was in early August. You are probably wondering what’s been happening beside what’s on my Podcast. We had some pretty awesome interviews, real time reporting, and Podcast about FHL’s plan in Food Pantry Planting Movement.

So, in the past 6 weeks, FHL trained and mobilized volunteers for the Food Pantry Planting. The launching (9/22) was simple. There were about 30 volunteers who worshiped and prayed together at the FHL office. By Monday 9/24, we had mobilized around 40 volunteers who passed out about 750 grocery bags to several neighborhoods encouraging them to donate non perishable food items for 3 food pantries. Our fearless volunteers also visited several businesses to encourage them to participate in food collection. In particular, Noodles & Co located at 3450 W. 86th St. 46268 is partnering with 2 of FHL Food Pantries to collect food on Saturday, Sept. 29 from 5p-9p. They are also donating 25% of sales during the hours of collection through FHL referrals. Please drop by and bring some canned goods on the 29th.

FHL had mobilized around 90 volunteers from IUPUI and New Hope Presbyterian Church during the last 2 Kindness Days at 38th/Illinois. The next Kindness Days are on Oct 8th to help a person in yard work, minor construction and house clean up. This project is sponsored by Southport Presbyterian Church. They are bringing their Youth for a short-term mission in our own backyard. On Oct 13-14, FHL is partnering with Northview Christian Church who will be sending around 400 volunteers for FHL’s Heal the Land Project.

On Oct 5-6, will FHL Disaster Preparedness Seminar. Thanks to our Project Manager, Donna Cherry for putting this together. For more info, please visit http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=39cc0dd2d86044c04d68bcf7c&id=7e596cbd9d

My plan was to slow down a little bit to catch up on admin and update our websites and social media outlets. Thanks to our great IT Director who kept up in our technical needs while the rest of our staff were busy out in the streets. Id’ like to also thank Bill Lamb, our Food Pantry & Kindness Day Director, Susannah Francis, my Executive Asst. who is great not only in helping me put procedures on paper but also in many administrative training and operations. Most specially, I am very thankful for our full-time Art Director volunteer, my wife Annie, for helping me run and maintain the FHL office.

I have more stuff to share with you but this one getting long. So until then, keep the faith…in our Lord Jesus Christ!

Progression of Spiritual Demographics

December 6, 2009 Merlin Gonzales FHL Mobile Food Pantry, Message

At least 3 people received Jesus as their Savior at the last FHL Mobile Food Pantry at Boys & Girls Club, Indianapolis. Just between the pantry & the Street Evangelism, we are averaging 2 salvations a week. At the same time, we are adding more disciples on a monthly basis through other FHL ministries.

I have sensed the collision of Light and darkness in the spiritual realm at the last Pantry. I asked the Lord what’s happening? A thought came to me…we are not the Savior, He is. We leave the judgment to God. Our job is to create an environment where love is overflowing to the extent that people get attracted to us. God is saying,”The harvest is plentiful and I am sending them to you.” The anointing is getting stronger and so is the opposition.

If we show the tangible unconditional love of Christ to the world, they can’t help but come to us. It is the manifest Presence of God that brings people to us. Romans 2:4b: “God’s kindness leads you toward repentance”

There will be more and more non-Christians coming to serve with us, through Kindness Days, Pantry, Farm, other Outreaches, etc. We need to be ready as the harvest is right in front of us. We also need to be alert that the enemy is opportunistic.

God has been showing us new ways to reach out and to bring the message. He had opened doors for us to minister to churches and to the world. There are many new things that He is doing in our ministry. It’s mind-boggling for me to see non-Christians literally get attracted to us in serving those in need. The stories in Jesus’ time is manifesting in our midst!

Living a lifestyle of unconditional love allows us to live in freedom and bring the Kingdom of God into the hearts of others! What a privilege to experience Heaven expanding in our communities.

Here is a Testimonials from one of the volunteers:

“Bertha and I got up in front this past Sunday and told the Church about the (FHL) food pantry and how awesome it was to be a part of it than I told them about the Citywide prayer and about FHL they are all excited and one of the ladies from our church spoke up and said that what she has a heart for and that she is manager of some apartments in Greenwood that houses 250 refugees and she wants to get something going there.” – Debra F.

God bless,

Merlin
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Merlin Gonzales, FHL International Inc.
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Mailing Address: Faith, Hope and Love Intl., Inc
8383 Craig St. Ste. 335

Indianapolis, IN 46250
317-578-3370 www.fhlinternational.org