Farm Church in Durham, North Carolina, is all about getting fresh produce to those who are hungry. “It’s a congregation that meets on a farm and leverages the resources of the farm for people with food insecurity, people who live in food deserts and can’t get to produce sections or can’t afford produce,” said Allen Brimer, pastor of this new worshipping community. In regular times, Brimer uses an app to see which of the 80 food pantries in the Durham area is open. Then “we can just harvest, bundle it up, take it straight to them. … Folks have it in their hands probably within two hours of it coming out of the ground. That works really well for us. And in this moment of COVID-19, there are still pantries that are open and functioning.” At Farm Church, the lettuce, kale and greens are coming along — plants that are nutrient-dense and have a shorter growing time. The local food pantries are still figuring out how to operate safely, how to manage volunteers  — there’s an … [Read more...]

Churches are trying to find ways to respond to rising levels of food insecurity brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. To do so safely has meant that people of faith are called to help in new, collaborative ways. And in some places, separation is becoming a force for bringing people together. In many communities, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the pain of food insecurity — with so many people losing their jobs, with some having to work even though they fear workplace exposure to the coronavirus will make them sick, with children home all day and needing to eat, with the pandemic laying clear economic inequalities laced through the American system. In Durham, North Carolina, people of faith – who have worked together in food pantries and on justice issues for years – are trying to figure out how to respond in new configurations, learning as they go how to both keep social distance and to provide food for neighbors they know are hungry. There are new collaborations — … [Read more...]