Jamin Bradley

This past week, we had dozens of cars lined up for over an hour, each hoping to receive a box of goods. While these boxes vary from month to month, you can generally expect to find items such as fruit, vegetables, milk, and other essentials. Sometimes, there’s more than this—it just depends on how the resources pan out for the month.

Likewise, this past week, we had more people than usual stop by our church to grab some goods from our mobile food bank. They were able to help themselves to the following: diced tomatoes, applesauce, pasta sauce, collard greens, beans, 2 cans of salmon, spaghetti, a produce item, a bakery item, and a choice of meat.

The people making time in their week to stand in lines to receive these goods are the same people who will be facing heightened difficulty as SNAP benefits are expected to run out in a few days. These are not people who are living the good life off the government and non-profits—it’s people who are trying to make ends meet. These people stand in long lines for whatever they can get because they can’t afford not to.

Food is a justice issue, so the government has a part in it. Food is a community issue, so neighbors have a part in it. Food is a Jesus issue, so Christians have a part in it. For where the hungry are found, so is Jesus—and that’s right where his disciples belong.