“Our people were shocked to realize that this kind of hunger was going on in our neighborhood,” she said. “The congregation said: ‘There are children in our backyard who are going hungry every day? We have to do something about this.’ ” That’s how Elijah’s Backpack was formed. Named for the prophet who was fed through God’s mercy, the program distributes healthy meals and snacks each Friday after- noon to schoolchildren in need. ELCA World Hunger supported their effort with grants totaling $5,000 for 2012 and 2013.
Forty-eight children at three ele- mentary schools receive soup, ravioli, apple sauce, fruit cups, granola bars and other items in single-serving sizes. “We’re trying to provide the healthiest food that we can while still working within the confines of our budget,” Derrick said.
The principals and guidance coun- selors say Elijah’s Backpack makes a difference. “Children come to school more prepared [and] can focus bet- ter. They seem more engaged in the classroom,” Derrick said. Recognizing hunger where it
exists: That’s the goal of Hunger 101, which Emma Wagner helps lead for the Delaware-Maryland Synod. Wag- ner, a student at Towson [Md.] Uni- versity and a member of St. Michael Lutheran Church, Baltimore, has led it about 10 times for congregations and schools.
Participants are assigned a profile of a person from their area who can’t purchase all the food they need with their own resources. They visit simu- lated grocery stores, food pantries and social service agencies, trying to meet their families’ calorie require- ments for one week without going over budget.
“My goal every time I put it on is for the participants to try to under- stand the realities that people in our
community face when they’re trying to feed their families,” Wagner said. Most participants, she added, are shocked by how complicated and intimidating the application for the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is. “It’s about 12 pages, and if you fill out one part wrong, the whole thing is invalid,” she said. “And you don’t get food right away—it takes four to six weeks to process the application. I just want participants to understand that for some people, getting food isn’t as easy as getting chips out of the pantry.”
Building community Food does more than nourish the body. It also brings together com- munities in a simple but powerful way. Gift of Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, can attest to that. One night each week, the small congregation hosts GraceFeast for anyone who wants to attend.
About 70 people from all socio- economic classes usually show up for the family style meal. Some are Grace members; many come from the surrounding neighborhood. Although some guests are in need of a meal, GraceFeast’s primary goal isn’t to feed the hungry per se. It’s to bring together people who might not otherwise connect with, or even talk to, each other.
“When you gather intentionally around the idea of ‘we are having a meal together,’ not ‘I am going to serve you a meal because you are in need,’ it allows you to put aside bar- riers and awkwardness,” said church member Kristie Neklason. “It’s a way for people to come together when it might otherwise be hard.” To help, ELCA World Hunger pro- vided a $2,000 grant in 2013. Community meals are also a
simple but powerful way for people to feel useful in and connected to a
congregation.
Ask Barbara Callender, a mem- ber of St. John Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Ind. Every Wednesday night she and other volunteers host a meal for about 100 members of the congregation and community, which includes many homeless and low- income people. St. John’s effort also received a $2,000 grant from ELCA World Hunger.
“This has become my passion, and I really feel a connection to the people who come,” Callender said. One of her favorites is the disabled man from the neighborhood who insists on helping to set up tables, make coffee and carry out other tasks. “We don’t know what we did without him,” she said. “We offered to put him on salary, and he said no. He’s joined our church. There’s always that possibility that we can bring somebody to God this way, and not because of what it does for us, but what it does for them.”
Relationship-building is also the impetus behind Feast of Justice, a nonprofit affiliated with St. John Lutheran Church, Philadelphia. About 400 families a week receive groceries through the program, which also serves a monthly community meal. Feast of Justice received a $3,500 grant in 2013 from ELCA World Hunger.
“Our mission is not to give as much food away as we can,” said Patricia Neale, pastor of St. John and Feast of Justice’s director. “It’s to empower transformation by developing relationships and let- ting people know they’re not alone, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. If you’re just serving food to someone and not engaging in any way, it is so unlikely that you’re going to have that transformation.” To build relationships, personal shopping assistants accompany each guest as they choose their grocer-
June 2013 23
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