Acting on hunger
Regional Food Bank kicks off initiative, encouraging faith-based groups to continue outreach
Leaders from faith-based groups recently attended a breakfast and tour at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma to kick off “Hunger Action Month” which is September.
When a local food bank closed its doors, Pam Dobbins and a small group of volunteers decided to fill in the gap by opening a food pantry of their own in 2010 in their small town of Comanche.
Dobbins said Christian Helping Hands began with $250 in the bank, a dozen boxes of macaroni and cheese and a junky building, and now the nonprofit currently offers a 4,000-square-foot clothes closet, transitional houses for formerly incarcerated women and an employment readiness program. And it recently opened a second food pantry.
Dobbins shared her organization’s story at a special breakfast hosted by the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma to kick off “Hunger Action Month” in September. The event was held as part of the food bank’s new faith-based initiative and included many of the organization’s current faith-based partners, as well as agencies that have expressed interest in partnering to combat hunger.
Dobbins said Christian Helping Hands’ food pantry became a “hub” and gave volunteers a great way to make initial connections with individuals and families in the community.
“Food is the beginning. They can’t move forward if they’re hungry all the time,” she said.
John Bob-Semple, the Regional Food Bank’s director of community engagement, told breakfast guests that Hunger Action Month in September is a time when food banks across the nation come together to mobilize the public to take action against hunger.
He said this year’s theme is “Running on Empty.”
Katie Fitzgerald, chief executive officer of the Regional Food Bank, said the food bank provides enough food every week to feed 126,000 people in central and western Oklahoma. In its network of more than 1,300 agencies, 60 percent are faith-based organizations, she said.
“The faith community is the backbone of what we do around the country. We can’t thank faith communities enough for what they do,” she said.
Fitzgerald said a 65-year-old woman recently passed out in front of a local food pantry, and the agency’s leaders learned that she hadn’t eaten in several days.
“We are quite literally the difference between life and death for some people,” she said.
Fitzgerald told breakfast attendees that compassion is what binds them together across faith traditions.
“It really means ‘to suffer with,’ she said. “Where our mission meets up with folks is when people are at their most vulnerable, at their most desperate, when they are afraid and alone.”
Raising awareness
An opportunity to participate in a “Hunger Action Month” social media campaign drew the attention of several guests.
Food bank staff members explained that people could take a picture with a cardboard plate which would display what action they could not do if they were hungry.
The Rev. Steven Earp, lead pastor of Elevate Church in Moore, chose to participate, and a food bank staff member took a picture of him holding up a plate. He was encouraged to post the picture on social media throughout Hunger Action Month to bring awareness to the issue of food insecurity in the community.
Earp said he liked the idea and the food bank’s mission.
“I’m super thankful for the work that the food bank does,” Earp said.
“(Hunger) is not a sectarian problem. It’s not a denominational problem. It’s a problem for everybody and that’s what I like about them is that they work with everybody.”
The Rev. Ryan Abernathy, the food bank’s senior director of programs and nutrition, shared other ways to spread awareness of hunger in Oklahoma.
Abernathy said he is a minister, and he has seen firsthand how feeding the hungry in the community allows organizations to learn about other needs families may have. He is teaching pastor and elder of West Metro Community Church in Yukon.
Abernathy encouraged religious leaders to education the younger generation about what it means to be in need and hungry. Bring them to a soup kitchen, food bank or food pantry to volunteer.
He also encouraged the leaders to volunteer at the food bank themselves and to make donations to the organization. Through Sept. 30, all Food for Kids donations will be matched dollar for dollar up to $150,000.
Abernathy also urged leaders to learn more about the food resources that are available in the community so they may share them with others. He told them about a mobile application called Got Food, which lists food pantries and food sites available once a ZIP code is entered.