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
- Based on:
- 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.
