In the months following the 2013 Come to the Table Conference Series, we’ve heard from a number of you who were inspired by the projects you encountered, people you met, and conversations you began. Many of you are now figuring out how to bring these ideas and discussions back to your clergy, congregations, and home communities. Last month, after the Rural Life Committee Meeting at the RAFI office, we sat down with a few folks who attended the conferences. Here are their insights into the challenges and transformative potential of starting or expanding a food ministry.

Marty Cauley is a pastor at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Rocky Mount, in an area that has one of the state’s highest rates of obesity, poverty, and unemployment. The church owns six acres of farmland and is in a process of building partnerships and a plan to convert these into a large-scale community garden for hunger relief. Mac Ledgerton is a UCC pastor, community organizer, and the director of the Center for Community Action in Robeson County. He works with churches to assess their capacity to engage in community projects and food ministries. In addition, he serves with the statewide Sustainable Food Advisory Council and the Wilmington- based local foods organization Feast Downeast.

Katy Phillips works with Farmer Foodshare, an organization based in the Triangle that partners with farmers’ markets, churches, and hunger relief agencies to distribute market produce for hunger relief. She has also been involved in Anathoth Community Garden, one of the state’s most well-known faith-based gardens.

Bringing it Back: How to Talk with Your Faith Community about Food Ministries

 

March 15, 2013 - Western NC Come to the Table Conference Photo Courtesy of Peter Eversoll

 

Come to the Table Critical Conversation I: pp. I  

Sarah Gibson: What’s your advice to conference participants on first steps for starting or expanding a food ministry in their congregation? Marty Cauley: Pastors as a breed are overwhelmed by opportunities, so the worst thing that people from the Come to the Table Conference can do is to come back and tell their pastor what more he or she should do. What I’d love as a pastor to see is someone who’s interested and passionate about a food ministry and all they need is the permission to go forth and make it happen. Katy Phillips: Often people will come back from conferences and see what others are doing, get really excited, and want to do those same projects rather than gauge what their own communities’ needs are. At the Rural Life Committee Meeting earlier today, one of the insights I found to be helpful was the idea of conference participants creating tours of different projects in their local area so that groups from a congregation can get a sense of what’s already happening. Someone else at the meeting pitched the idea of having food ambassadors who would report back to their congregation about what they’re finding in the community, whether it’s a gardening project or a cooking program. Mac Ledgerton: Our Christian church is a church of sharing food, but you [still] need to ask: How is this food ministry connected not just to outreach but to the mission, growth, and sustainability of your faith community? Or is it aligned at all? I think this has to be answered before ministry has begun, because if it’s not, it

can create a lot of tensions later. People will get burnt out on serving the community without understanding how it leads to the growth or sustainability of the congregation. One thing congregations can do is a real assessment of both their facilities and their property, and how to better utilize them to serve the congregation and the community. I worked with LaGrange United Methodist Church to do this, and as we started looking at all the resources that were available (a nice fellowship hall, a well-equipped kitchen, a big parking lot), the potential for food ministries were identified. They started a Farmers’ Market on their own in 2012 right there in the church parking lot and got other churches, organizations, and the school involved. It’s going very well [and they’ve increased church membership as a result]. Katy: I think it is important for churches to partner with other organizations in order to incorporate the wider community and build bridges. I have encouraged Farmer Foodshare to do this with Iglesia Emanuel, a Latino congregation in Durham...Igelsia Emanuel already has a food pantry going, along with fabulous cooks, but they were only receiving canned goods from the food bank. Many churches are already involved in feeding the hungry, but we need to encourage them to take a more

You need to ask: How is this food ministry connected not just to outreach but to the mission, growth, and sustainability of your faith community? Or is it aligned at all? Mac Ledgerton ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⎯

Come to the Table Critical Conversation I: pp. II  

sustainable and conscious approach. Farmer Foodshare’s Donation Station Program is now giving donations of fresh food to Iglesia Emanuel’s Sunday and Wednesday night dinners. This is a great way to build a relationship, as it [builds from] the assets that both the church and the organization already have. Sarah: What have you found are the best ways to get congregations or clergy galvanized and committed to food ministries? Marty: Most people are for food ministries. From my most conservative to my most liberal church members, all can agree that we don’t want people to go hungry, and that unless we feed people’s stomachs we can’t feed their souls. The best way I’ve learned to communicate a macro-problem [like food insecurity] is with a micro-story. For instance, if we start a community garden adjacent to our church property, the story is going to have to revolve around one or two people being positively affected by the endeavor, not just the fact that we can feed sixty families with our produce. Those big numbers don’t resonate with congregation members, but one story about one life that’s improved carries real weight to it. Also, in eastern North Carolina, if you’re talking about food security and reaching across economic lines, you tend to also be reaching across racial lines, which are

much more clearly drawn. I can tell you from personal experiences that a strong stand for diversity in the community is going to cost you something. These food ministries address not just a food security issue but a racial justice issue. Sarah: Are there strategies that you have used to ensure

that the ministries you are involved with address these issues of racial diversity and inclusivity? Mac: I think there’s a real difference between diversity and inclusion in our community, and churches don’t really understand that distinction. We tend to focus on diversity – having diverse representation in the room – and then we don’t develop structures that are really inclusive, where people are genuinely engaged with each other and there’s inclusion and equity in all our activities and programs. You can serve diverse populations but not really welcome them into your door.

Sarah: Are there ways you can build structures that facilitate this work in an inclusive way? Is there a “magic number” of people who need to be committed in order to keep the momentum for a food ministry going?   Katy: I think that faith communities need to bring all people into the conversation and into leadership, supporting those even on the margins and encouraging leadership amongst the "least of these." This is one

Most people are for food ministries. From my most conservative to my

most liberal church members, all can agree

that we don’t want people to go hungry, and that unless we feed people’s stomachs we can’t feed

their souls. Marty Cauley ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Come to the Table Critical Conversation I: pp. III  

thing Anathoth Garden did well. We got really creative with how we used volunteers who would come out to help us. We would have disabled and older folks come sit under the shade and plant seeds in seed trays sitting down, so there are always ways to build capacity and include folks who don’t want to be in a labor-intensive role. You need to use your imagination to involve people who might not feel like they have anything to offer, and give them tasks that really need to be done. Having regular volunteers is really important, and Anathoth supplemented their community member volunteers with interns and seasonal volunteers who got food in exchange. Having a garden manager was essential! Marty: I’ve found that eight tends to be a good number because I can’t really hold strong accountable relationship with more than that. Like any good thriving relationship, it requires vulnerability. The team that’s going to be able to do anything is going to need to trust each other and a have common mission, vision, and values. [To form this kind of team], we use intentional leadership huddles gathered in single gender groups with a facilitator. We gather every other week and we ask two questions: “What is God saying to me?” and “What am I going to do about it?” The goal is to take responsibility for the voice of God in your life. Once you answer that question, then you have a group of people that hold you accountable, and that’s how we get our traction for any good ministry.

Mac: I use the mustard seed approach. You get just a few people together and if the pastor has limited experience, you can expose him or her to the field of food work. Eventually you need a visionary who is task-oriented and good at direction and implementation; a community builder who is focused on the meaning behind the ministry; a resource coordinator who knows what your financial and non-financial resources are; and a practitioner/coach who has experience in the field and can facilitate the process. But besides the right numbers, you need right minds and right hearts and the right structure. The structure’s important to really ensure that everyone feels like they belong in the group and has purpose being there, and that purpose is respected and honored. In doing this work, you need to be building community at the same time you’re accomplishing your tasks.

Come to the Table Critical Conversation I: pp. IV  

There’s a difference between diversity and inclusion and churches don’t really understand that…You can serve diverse populations but not really welcome them into your door. Mac Ledgerton [We] need to bring all people into the conversation and into leadership, supporting those even on the margins and encouraging leadership amongst the "least of these." Katy Phillips ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Suggested Reading To read more from Marty, visit his website: http://www.martycauley.org. Get a copy of “Street Smarts”, a guide to community ministry from Mac and others at the NC Council of Churches and NCCUMC: http://nccumc.org/outreach/files/2009/03/ss-guidebook-updateforcopy.pdf.    

 Come to the Table works with people of faith relieving hunger and supporting local agriculture in North Carolina. It is a project of the Rural Life Committee of the North Carolina Council of Churches, coordinated by RAFI-USA with support from The Duke Endowment. For more ideas and resources on how your congregation can get involved, go to www.rafiusa.org/cttt.      

Come to the Table Critical Conversation I: pp. V  

Learn more about Katy’s organization, Farmer Foodshare: http://www.farmerfoodshare.org.