Texas at the Table: Part Two.

the Birds, the Bees and the Apple Trees

at the Table in Lubbock, TX

Having an initial crash course in Waco about the complexity of our food system, we – the lovely ladies of the Texas at the Table: Project Go Road Trip – made a bee-line for Lubbock to learn about (food) banks, bees, and Baptists. Lubbock was the second stop on the Texas at the Table Road Trip to explore how people across Texas creatively address hunger in their communities – or more simply, exploring where food comes from, who gets it, and who doesn’t.

Outside Steve's Market and Deli. Brownwood, TX.

Day Three: Beginning our trek from the World Hunger Relief Farm in Waco, TX, we head to our second destination on the Texas at the Table Road Trip – Lubbock – and the “road” part of our trip commences. Happily loaded into our Ford Fusions, we start our journey for lunch in Brownwood, TX – home of Howard Payne University, college of one of our fine young ladies, as well as Steve’s Market and Deli. Steve’s is an unusual little nook for small town Texas – more akin to Austin eateries – and we happily welcome Dr. Bronner‘s soap and vegetarian fare wherever we go. Or at least I do – the gals were probably just weirded out. But here at Steve’s we also meet a wonderful woman who works with Keep Brownwood Beautiful and oversees the Brownwood Community Garden. The garden is funded through economic stimulus money, complete with in-ground irrigation and rainwater catchment, and sits on the back property of Salvation Army.

Inside Steve's.

After lunch, we take to the road once again to arrive in Lubbock and meet our hostesses – Vangela and Tish and the wee little Connor. Over dinner, we co-mingle with folks from the South Plains Food Bank – where Vangela works. Then one final stop before heading home to Vanela’s – the library. The library is a notorious sleeping spot for many of the homeless in Lubbock. We drop off extra food from our dinner to the men sleeping under the overhang. I met a recovering hippie named Woodstock who sleeps at the library when he can’t find a ride home. We part ways as it begins to rain.

the beautiful front facade of the South Plains Food Bank.

Day Four: Another bright and early morning. Heading to Kitchen of Hope, a project of the South Plains Food Bank, where many of the meals are prepared for the various Kid’s Cafe sites – an after-school snack and meal program for low-income kids sponsored through Feeding America, the national network of food banks. Kid’s Cafe in Lubbock also sponsors the summer lunch program. Next, we visit the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Lubbock, as they are hosting a youth summer camp for LDS teenagers in the area. We watch a film about the commitment to service in the church in response to the Gospel. Then Vangela shares her story, being a single-parent of a special needs child, losing her job, and needing the support of the Food Bank in tough times. Now she is able to give back. And so can these kids. They are spending their morning going door-to-door to collect canned goods for the Food Bank. Originally the kids were going to volunteer at the Food Bank, but due to a shortage, there isn’t enough food for volunteers to organize.

Looking at flood damage at the GRUB farm.

From the LDS church we head to the GRUB Farm, another project of the South Plains Food Bank, where we did some flood-damage control, after the recent hurricane rains. GRUB stands for Growing Recruits in Urban Business – a youth entrepreneurial agriculture program to train young folks how to grow fresh fruit and vegetables – 50% of which is distributed through the Food Bank, while the remainder is sold through a CSA. Local students who participate in the GRUB program also sell produce at local farmers markets. After the GRUB Farm had been in operation for a few years, a survey was conducted to assess whether the program was benefiting the lives of the youth who participated. Much to the amazement of those in charge, the youth knew how to grow vegetables but had no idea how to eat them. Thus started another important component of the GRUB program – cooking lessons as well as other value-added programs. The kids also sell GRUB Scrub, loofah soap that they have grown and made themselves. The GRUB Farm receives agricultural and technical support from Texas Tech – professors and students conduct experiments with season extension and vegetable varieties, which are then integrated into the GRUB program. Because so many youth work at the Farm, the site also participates in the summer meal program.

GRUB mobile market trailer - built by Texas Tech students.

For lunch, we head to the main location of the South Plains Food Bank. Kitchen staff have prepared us a gourmet meal from food bank food – and we dine in elegance along many higher ups of the food bank – including the executive director David Weaver, who shares many stories of the people he encounters visiting the food bank. Meagan, who oversees volunteers, leads us on a tour of the Food Bank warehouse – showing us typical food boxes of dry goods, refrigerated goods, and fresh produce. The South Plains Food Bank is unique in that rather than distributing food to various social service agencies (which in turn distribute the food through direct social service) throughout the city, food is directly dispersed through the main food bank location. This poses problems in transportation – because the warehouse is located outside of town and bus access is severely limited.

Apple Country Orchards, Idalou, TX.

With hearts heavy and bellies full, we head out towards Idalou, TX, to fulfill a life-long dream of Mallory’s – picking apples. We drop in announced to visit Cal at Apple Country Orchards, for an afternoon of apple-pickin’. City girls picking apples. Cal is patient and polite with us. Even entertaining us afterwards with some German Apple Cake as well as some of his cotton honey – and stories of bees and children. He tells us of his struggles to educate children about where their food comes from – a project made tougher by the presence of parents, who are quick to nay-say the yumminess of an Early Blaze apple or Armenian cucumber (a new found favorite amongst Road Trippers). In order to subvert the minds of little ones, he separates the little ones from their parents and has them eat. And the taste tells the rest of the story. That and Cal’s demonstrations of bee pollination, buzzing merrily amongst fruiting flowers. He charmed us too with his tales of bee life and raw honey.

Mallory, living the dream.

Thanks to the overabundant hospitality of Vangela and Tish, we went back to their home for a dinner (at this point I should say that the majority of our meals were prepared and provided by the Food Bank kitchen staff). Then an evening on the town at a local coffee shop called Sugar Brown’s Coffee, where we made a new friend who happened to be a magician.

the Downtown Art Market - or DAM for short.

Day Five: A Saturday. Finally a weekend and some time for rest. Although, my – Bethel’s idea of rest seems to be vastly different than the rest of the gal’s. I prefer to sleep in until 8am. On a Saturday. Especially when there’s a farmers market to be gotten to. And so I rallied the ladies – much to their chagrin – and all headed to the Downtown Art Market. Random fact: Buddy Holly was from Lubbock. At the Downtown Art Market, we found vendors of all varieties, including: a lady named Emma who makes salsa (which we bought), many a jewelry maker, GRUB farm kids, Apple Country Orchard folks

(also bought some Armenian cucumbers and red raspberry preserves), and two lovely ladies making soap with wonderfully creative “flavors” like Ziegenbock.

Spanky's - 'nuf said.

Lunch was paradoxically taken at a local favorite, Spanky’s. Our meal consisted of fried mushrooms, fried okra, fried cheese, and French fries. Hey, some times you gotta keep it real. We ended our evening in style swimming in a gated community and dessert in a hot tub. At the home of the Food Bank’s executive director. There was also a deeply stimulating conversation concerning which ice cream flavors best embody the spirit of each Road Tripper. Example: Mallory – Blue Bell’s Birth Day Cake; Bethel – a mash-up of Homestead Heritage‘s Sorghum Pecan with homemade goat’s milk ice cream. Much sleep needed.

at Second Baptist, with Pastor Ryon and Pastor Ben.

Day Six: Egg breakfast, complements of the Food Bank. Love infused into the eggs, complements of Tish. Worship at Second Baptist – church of Vangela and David. Us gals split up into two groups to speak at the college and Boomers Sunday school classes. Then we worship with Harry Potter – actual name Ryon Price, a graduate of Duke Divinity School and new pastor at 2^nd B. Sermon entitled “Like A Good Neighbor” – not referring to State Farm Insurance, but rather reflections on the story of the Good Samaritan. Pondering the question who is my neighbor, but on a deeper level, for the question asked to Jesus implies that certainly they are people who are not considered to be my neighbor. There are people that we need not be concerned for. There are people who are not considered to be my brother or my sister. But Jesus answers the tax collectors question with a parable-infused question – in typical Jesus-fashion. A good teaching as we take to the road again – and attempt to understand on this trip, deemed a mission trip, that ministry is not just confined to the few moments we haughtily choose to deem as missional.

End Day Five 1/2. End Part Two.

Texas at the Table: Part One.

And So it Begins, with Five Fearless Feather-Pluckin’ Females:

at the Table in Waco, TX

Whilst in Waco, we – the lovely ladies of the Texas at the Table: Project Go Road Trip – harvested and gleaned both vegetables and stories with dirty-fingernail-ed farm-hands and business-suited theological-thinkers. Waco is the first stop on the Texas at the Table Road Trip to explore how people across Texas creatively address hunger in their communities – or more simply, exploring where food comes from, who gets it, and who doesn’t.

the World Hunger Relief Farm.

Day 0.5 (the evening of our first gathering – thus not the legitimate Day One in my play-book): The much arrival happens. Five fearless ladies convene – with parental units – on the World Hunger Relief Farm in Waco, TX. The parents step out of their comfortably AC-ed vehicles to be hit brazenly in the face by the Farm – the heat, the smell. Welcome. The gals are starting to question what they’ve gotten themselves into. And perhaps, so are their leaders. All meet and greet each other awkwardly. A short tour of the Farm is given – complete with instructions that this is a flush-free farm (only composting toilets) and the home they will be staying in does not have running water or electricity. Parents leave reluctantly – they have left their daughters to the care of a lady with a lip-loop and nose-ring and the other one has tattoos . . . Introductory awkwardness subsides and its dinnertime. Except that dinner must first be harvested. Kale. Swiss chard. Onions. Peppers. (Supplemented with Bethel’s peanut sauce and rice). This dinner is a strange experience (in addition to the heat and composting toilets) because: 1. These gals never really cook; and 2. They don’t ever really eat vegetables. Whataburger seems to be a staple dinner. Bethel (the leader with tattoos and braids – and also the leader with tattoos) begins to worry . . .

Sunflowers for CSA harvest at the World Hunger Relief Farm.

Day One: No rest for the weary – or the farmer. Devotions at the Farm start at 7am. Lucas Land -Truett grad and former Farm intern – leads a discussion of personal heresies and the Bible. Work chores are handed out. Most farm folks are working the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) harvest – the Farm supplies 60 families in the Waco-area with a week’s worth of fresh vegetables for 8 months a year, on a subscription basis. CSA is just one model of direct-to-consumer farm marketing allowing farmers to know that what is planted has a home once out of the field, creating a relationship between farmers and those who eat the food the farmer grows. All that to say, the Go Now-ers jumped into harvesting bouquets of basil, counting cucumbers and eventually bundling sunflowers for shares. After moving the chickens in their portable coop-mobiles, designed to rotate the chickens to fresh pasture – which leads to eggs richer in beta-carotene and omega 3 and 6 fats, all part of a healthy, balanced diet. After a farm-family lunch, Farmer Jes talked with the gals about raw milk as the gals washed eggs freshly collected from our clucking lady-friends. The Farm manages a Grade A Raw Goat Milk dairy – containing the healthy bacteria that aids in digestion for even those who are lactose-intolerant.

the Lorena stove over which our meal was cooked.

Without a siesta, the real work for the day begins. Making dinner. From scratch. Over a wood-burning Lorena stove. Without running water. With meat that must be caught and killed before eaten. This is no simple task for five young ladies not used to cooking, let alone with modern day appliances – and in the heat of the day. Two roosters were caught by Dani and Chelsea, who were brave enough to volunteer for the slaughter.

An education in chicken butchering with farmers Lucas and Bethel.

Necks were slit (albeit with a dull knife) and the birds were bled out and plucked, while the rest of the gals gathered garden vegetables and pumped water from a well. Four hours later, a simple meal of chicken and rice with greens was prepared and placed on the table for all to eat. Delicious to all except those still smelling chicken feathers beneath their nails. With bellies brimming with fresh eats and tasty meats, the gals ended their evening with a showing of Food, Inc. – posing even more questions in already wearied and worried minds.

Our made-from-scratch meal at the Farm.

Day Two: Rising with the sun in time for devotions at the Farm, all are a bit slower than Day One. Yet the gals are able to drag themselves to a meeting with Beth Kilpatrick and Jeremy Everett of the Texas Hunger Initiative – aiming to end hunger in Texas by 2015 through collaborative community organizing. Jeremy shared about the role of grassroots organizing hand-in-hand with political advocacy in ending hunger in communities – while highlighting Gospel passages to inform the work we do. Beth also shared a clip from Rush Limbaugh and his comments about the federal Summer Feeding Program which provides a free meal to youth ages 18 and under, covering the gap in the free and reduced lunch program that continues throughout the school year. Please listen to the clip – and share your own comments.

Summer meal site in East Waco.

After those parting words from Rush, Jeremy and Beth, we ventured to Wesley United Methodist Church in East Waco to experience a summer feeding site firsthand. We met with Reverend Valda Jean Combs and a representative from the Waco ISD Nutrition Program. Waco is a unique place when it comes to summer feeding – Waco ISD writes the program into the budget, ensuring that a number of trained cafeteria workers are employed throughout summer to deliver hot meals to the summer feeding sites throughout the city. Host sites need only open their doors. Wesley UMC is unique in that Reverend Valda has organized a summer day camp in addition to providing transportation to the church. In an effort to encourage families to eat together, the McLennan County Hunger Coalition subsidizes adults to eat with their children.

Hot lunch provided by Waco ISD at Summer Feeding Site.

From Wesley UMC, we met with Phylixcia Moore and her uncle Vernon Clark to discuss the role of urban agriculture in providing healthy, nutritious food in communities experiencing supermarket redlining as well as increased rates of diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Phylixcia is now a sophomore at Prairie View A&M studying agriculture. While in high school, she headed the garden at Carver Park Baptist Church in East Waco, selling produce to the church for community meals as well as donating to food pantries. After Phylixcia had shared her story, her uncle Vernon asked a large question of the Go Now gals: How is the work you are doing and seeing maintaining poverty or attempting to resolve it? This question helped frame a number of the projects we were to encounter on the road.

From East Waco, we trekked to a variety of gardens throughout Waco – at churches and at schools – as I, Bethel, shared about my work as an agrarian social worker with the Heart of Texas Urban Gardening Coalition. We stopped at Homestead Heritage, another Christian farm in the area, for ice cream (my favorite being sorghum pecan) before heading back to the Farm to make pizza with farm fresh ingredients and resting before hitting the road to Lubbock.

Making pesto for pizza with fresh-gathered basil.

End Day Two. End Part One.

bethel's agrarian tour.

one week before leaving for the texas at the table road trip, i - bethel - just got home from the heaven on earth agrarian road trip, exploring farm and food projects led by faith communities across 8 states. hosted by the presbyterian hunger program. some of this relates - and i consider myself blessed to be able to explore the great and innovative projects happening here in our own great state of texas.

thankfully, i finished wrapping up most of my thoughts before hitting the road for a second time. see below to read all parts of that journey, the agrarian road trip from kentucky to michigan. this is a preview of a tour that shaped the planning of the project go tour - as well as a sneak peek at my road weary writings.

• Part One: Garlic Pickin', Potluckin' and Llamas (Kentucky and Tennessee)
  
• Part Two: Rural Revival (North Carolina)
  
• Part Three: Take Me Home, (Coal) Country Roads (West Virginia)
  
• Part Four: Changing Diapers - or the Politics of Urban Agriculture (Ohio)
  
• Part Five: No Jobs, Bad Transit, Good Gardens (Detroit)
  
• Part Six: Sharing our Stories over Cherry Pie, Blueberries and Beer (US Social Forum)

love, bethel.

Sites To See

Along the way on our trip we have encounter numerous different organizations that are also helping out in new and innovative ways to end hunger. We weren't able to visit them but hopefully you will be able to. Here are their websites and the names of the organizations.

Hunters for the Hungry
www.huntersforthehungry.us
Empty Bowls Project
www.emptybowls.net
Water For All
www.waterforall.org
Hope For Bolivia
www.southlandbaptist.org/waterforall
Lubbock Downtown Art Market
http://the-downtown-art-market.blogspot.com
Grub Farm
www.localharvest.org/south-plains-food-bank-grub-farm-M14333
Steve's Market and Deli
www.stevesmarketanddeli.com
Haven For Hope
www.havenforhope.org






Be Sure to look into your local area as well and see what is is being done to fight hunger and check out these awesome sites as well to help out!

Dani :-)

The Master of All Masterminds

I realize looking back over the past year that it seems as if God has been slowly piecing things together in my life for this trip and to learn more about the things we have learned. It all started with wanting to start a homeless shelter in my college town. I have no idea where or why I got the idea, or when but i soon forgot because naturally I have no idea about that stuff and thought I could never do anything- I'm just a college student. So in January I go to Passion 2010 In GA, and was expecting God to show me all this stuff about my future and my life. What did I get-nothing, I got nothing all week, until the last day when I decided to skip everything and go to the prayer room. That's where God put that little thought about the shelter into my head again. I still thought it was so crazy but I was so fired up about it and went home and told my college minister. From there we talked and he told me that if this was God talking to me about this then I had to do something. He told me to first figure out what was going on in the town. To talk to the people and build relationships and to find out what the people really needed. So I did my research and started volunteering at the Salvation Army. I slowly started talking with the people and one guy started talking with me one day and I was listening and talking back but I was also supposed to be cleaning the tables, so I started to scoot away and told him that I had to work. Then God slapped me straight in the face. He looked at me and asked what I was there for. I told him to volunteer and just help out. He thought differently. He said "no, you're here to talk to people to listen and to get to know the people here. Wow did I feel terrible after that. I could not have been more hurt by that. It was if Jesus was sitting there in front of me instead of this man. I don't think I'll ever forget that moment. So from then on I try to interact with the people more than I did before.

Our college ministry also began a separate ministry called Love Brownwood, where we all get together on a Friday and bake hundreds of dozens of cookies to pass out to the neighborhoods around our church. It has blossomed so much over the past few months that we began building personal relationships with the people we delivered cookies to, and now we deliver food to the ones we have that connection with, every Wednesday night and just sit and talk with them.

From there after school got out I looked back over the school year and realized how unhealthy that my eating habits had been and decided to start eating and shopping healthier for myself. I had also decided to go to my grandparents to learn more about gardening and flowers since that is my grandmother's passion and love. So my sister and I visited her for two weeks before this mission trip. I realize now that that set me up to love gardening, because I loved every minute of it with my grandparents, so much so that I transplanted flowers she gave me and planted them at home. So there, was instilled in me the passion for gardening along with the already present passion for homeless people and people in general. This trip across the state has shown me that God is working in everything that I do and is involved in every decision that I have been making in my life. Its crazy to think that it hasn’t been me at all making these decisions but rather my father, who has my best interests and the interests of the rest of his children in mind. From here I only hope that I can be a person to make a difference, even if its only a small one, God can do great things with small decisions.

Dani :-)

My Neighbor

The Colonias.

This is somebody’s home.

This was one of the nicer ones.

When I was in seventh grade I went on a mission trip to Mexico. I stared poverty right in the face and was completely broken over it. That trip changed my heart because witnessing true and real and devastating poverty does that to you. Touring through the Colonias on Tuesday brought all those feelings back. What was even worse – we weren’t in Mexico. It’s sad to say but I've seen it in Mexico, I would have expected it in Mexico… or been prepared for it at least. But, we were in The United States. Not eight miles down the road there was a mansion. A true legit mansion. It could have housed 50 plus people comfortably. It made me nauseous.

In the colonias there is no A/C. Some don't even have running water. Poverty is REAL. And it’s closer than people would ever think. There is poverty in TEXAS, in our own state!! After awhile I just couldn’t look anymore. Seeing those homes, some way worse than this one, just ripped my heart out. I am no better than whoever is living here. Yet, I’ve been blessed with so much – and I’m constantly taking it for granted.

Ignorance is bliss. How can I go back to my normal everyday life after seeing what I’ve seen? How can I go back to wanting a safe and secure job that will pay for a nice house and nice vacations and nice everything; A job that will bring me MORE money for things to make ME comfortable and to give ME more stuff. Stuff that won’t matter one day. Stuff that I will have NO need for in Heaven.

I can’t NOT do anything. These people are my neighbors. They’re your neighbors. Jesus tells us to love them. If you truly – honestly and truly- loved your neighbor could you stand to let them live without running water or electricity? Could you stand to see them fail at feeding themselves and their families? Could you stand to let your neighbor struggle at all?

I don’t know what I can do except try to live like Jesus. Try to honestly LOVE my neighbor. It’s hard. When you allow yourself to truly care for someone and willingly soften your heart just for it to be broken by somebody else’s pain, it physically hurts. So much would be different though, if everyone loved their neighbor the way that Jesus does.

Brittany.

The Valley!

Summer Feeding Site in Mission, Texas:

Second Baptist Church, Lubbock, Texas - Home rebuilding in the Colonias: Mission, Texas

words from the resident mad farmer.

hi. my name is bethel. i'm on this trip too. i provide useful - and disheartening - commentary throughout the trip, causing folks to think twice about processed hot dogs, nutrient-deprived white bread, red delicious apples, and let's not forget, pickles in a pouch. i also braid my own hair. and wear plaid occasionally.

but i haven't written anything yet. here. not because i'm not thinking thoughts. i'm thinking thoughts and dreaming dreams and a little bit of everything in between. my thoughts'll come spewing out after the trip. when i can process everything in hindsight. and thus this i my filler. and so i'll whet yer appetite with a poem of the good things to come. a poem by wendell berry, called manifest: the mad farmer liberation front. for i am a mad farmer. and this road trip is just one way to pollinate a wee little revolution.

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.

So, friends, every day do something
that won't compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion - put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

love, bethel.

Blessing or Tragedy?

The Final Judgement....

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:35

Many people see certain issues in black and white, right and wrong. For me, it’s always been harder. Take for instance, I see a hungry man is getting fed, that’s a blessing. Right? But, what if that food is not fresh, healthy, or nutritious; rather, it’s outdated or prepackaged with all sorts of unhealthy aspects to it. Is that right? Maybe it’s something you and I wouldn’t eat, so we hand it to the poor. Some may arrogantly speak “At least they are getting feed, they shouldn’t complain.” But I would complain. What makes me better than them to ask for healthier food and most likely get it? Or maybe it’s not just the food, but the compassion given by the person handing the food over. Or the love put into making or preparing or bagging up the food. Maybe it’s the time spent in cleaning, by hand, the dishes of over 100 guests at a feeding site. Where is the line of how it should and shouldn’t be done?

I have so many questions that I can’t answer; which, this trip has initiated. Yes, it’s good and a blessing for a hungry man to get fed, but at what cost? The fact that he may soon become obese because nothing he is given is nutritious or his child will learn unhealthy eating habits because all he knows is a prepackaged pickle. Yes, some may go to the ball game and love to get a pickle to snake on, but this is their meal! That may be the ONLY thing they eat all day. It may be that the only thing a hungry child can afford and get to is the corner convenient store and a $.99 bag of chips. That is a tragedy! How do we stop that?

It’s been a blessing to watch and observe the people who step out and take the initiative to lovingly, compassionately and prayerfully put their time and energy into building relationships with the homeless and working poor to help them in probably their biggest time of need. Most middle to upper class don’t have to worry about this issue. And because it doesn’t effect them, they don’t think about it. That too is a tragedy.


-Chelsea Jenkins

Thoughts...Questions....Doubts..... = GROWTH

"Jesus' whole life and mission involve accepting powerlessness and revealing in this powerlessness the limitlessness of God's love. Here we see what compassion means. It is not a bending toward the underprivileged from a privileged position; it is not a reaching out from on high to those who are less fortunate below; it is not a gesture of sympathy or pity for those who fail to make it in the upward pull. On the contrary, compassion means going directly to those people and places where suffering is most acute and building a home there."

- Henri Nouwen


Tell us what you think about this quote......

San Angelo... July 11th - 14th

What a city!!

I have never spent much time in San Angelo but the team agreed that it was a quaint yet progressive and delightful city! We were all impressed by Carol Rigby Hiebert and Mary Herbert's work with the Texas Hunger Initiative in San Angelo.

Arriving the evening of Sunday July 11th, we ate and helped clean up the meal served to volunteers and families for VBS at Southland Baptist Church, San Angelo, TX. The church folks and pastor, Taylor Sandlin, greeted us with warm smiles and discussion about our trip throughout Texas as they prepared for the evening's festivities. We then headed to Baptist Memorial Retirement Home to settle in for the evening (they offered us one of their guest apartments during our duration in San Angelo, TX --- it was wonderful!!).

Early the next morning we headed to Rust Street Ministries to spend time with their Director, Bob Knox and to volunteer. I think we were prepared to do mundane tasks but we walked away full hearts. The staff allowed us to be a part of their devotional led by their director. During this devotional time a few clients came in and Bob invited them into the scripture reading and discussion. It was easy to feel like you were part of the Rust Street family. That is what impacted us the most. Under Bob's leadership and amidst the staff at Rust Street, people did not seem to feel or act like clients, rather people that came in seeking clothes, food or other types of assistance seemed to just be talking to their friends. I was deeply moved by the emphasis of dignity provided to folks through this ministry and the deep compassion and empathy shown through the staff.

Later in the day we visited a community garden with Bob Knox, located near a subsidized apartment complex for Senior Citizens and found out that 50% of the produce from the garden is donated to the Rust Street Ministries to give out to families and individuals in need. Wow!

Members from the Senior community in addition to people from all over the community have their own garden plots they oversee but on Monday nights everyone meets to get tips from a Master gardener and to share tips with one another. It's truly a community-building experience!

We also visited a summer meals site NOT connected with TDA Summer Food Program but organized by local churches in an effort to feed not just children but parents also during the months of July and August when Summer school is over.

The site takes place in one of the original buildings of Ft. Concho. Churches volunteer for various days or weeks to be the ones to provide the food and serve the food to families, in addition to providing activities for the children that come to eat with their parents.

The next morning we went with Carol Hiebert (who coordinated our whole time in San Angelo, TX for us! - thanks Carol!!!) to the local Farmer's Market to purchase fresh produce to cook a meal for dinner later that day. After this, we went straight to the Wesley United Methodist Church in order to be the staff for the day at their Daily Bread Soup Kitchen. We made the whole meal, served it and cleaned up. It was quite a task!

The team saw through the summer feeding site and serving at this soup kitchen, the various faces and ages affected by hunger in TX.

Below is a picture of Sarah and Jeremy Boucher and Kathy Waller with Water for All and most of our team. (Sarah, Jeremy & Kathy shared with us about the mission and story of Water for All, why they remain based in San Angelo and attached to Southland Baptist and how they choose to live their lives simply when back in the state -- not getting tied down by debt and payments so they they can remain free to 'go' when God calls again and they are needed. -- THANK YOU - for sharing your stories and time with us in San Angelo Jeremy, Sarah and Kathy!)

Below is the Go Now team eating the dinner they prepared with Tommy and Carol Rigby-Hiebert, members of Southland Baptist Church, San Angelo, TX. Thanks for grilling that GREAT and local Mikulik Sausage, Tommy!!

Eye Opening Compassion

"Love in Reality is a harsh and dreadful thing as compared to the Love in dreams."


I’ve worked in soup kitchens, food pantries, and summer feeding programs. So, I had a general concept of what to expect in an environment related to alleviating hunger – a kitchen, food, serving equipment, lines, the needy etc. Today I had the privilege of volunteering at the Catholic Worker – completely different than any other homeless feeding site I’ve ever worked at; or any other feeding site in general. We made an awesome homemade meal and everyone ate off of real dishes with real metal silverware – no disposable flimsy plastic. As we prepared the meal people could walk in and out of the kitchen to get coffee or just to provide us with conversation as we cooked! We prayed before the meal and served the food in the kitchen. People were everywhere. It was loud, crowded and chaotic but with an overwhelming sense of hospitality. I loved it.


I was able to talk all about farmers markets and fresh produce with one very outgoing and passionate man. I listened to one gentleman talk about any random topic he could come up with just to make me think. I talked with a volunteer about his plan to experience homelessness so he could better grasp the living conditions these people had to deal with everyday. I listened to a philosopher tell about policies he thinks will help our economy. One couple described the drastic difference between two organizations that sought to help the homeless. I had a guy go on about how he was related to someone famous and then have a good laugh that I actually believed him.


God was good to me and gave me the courage to stand in front of a crowd of maybe 60 homeless men and women and bless our food. God granted me a still mind to just listen to these people and really hear what they had to say. The Holy Spirit stirred my heart, built up my compassion and rid my mind of any judging or negative comment. It was such an amazing day and I honestly feel like I’ve grown as a person just by what we did today.


One of my favorite parts of the day was during clean up when I got into a great personal conversation with one homeless man. I was shocked by how eager he was for someone to hear his story. We talked about hospitality and how there is a big difference between a soup kitchen and really serving those who need help; and how building RELATIONSHIPS and taking time to actually care for someone makes a huge difference in their life. This man, who was only 8 years older than me, told me about how he wound up being homeless. His words exactly, “You never know when it could be your last paycheck.” – You never think it could be you. His story was heartbreaking and I don’t feel the need to go into all the details but it was eye opening to hear his side of the story and really talk about what he thinks needs to be done about the issue of hunger and about being homeless. We also talked about trusting God and how He provides in big and small ways all the time.


It’s amazing how God can put together little moments like that – in a few minutes me and this man, who is completely different than me in almost every way, got to take off the mask that we all hide behind and be honest and legit. I didn’t just serve him lunch. I didn’t just halfway listen as he talked about his problems. We had a true 2 way conversation about God, life and how we could help. I don’t know if he was at all impacted by our conversation. In fact I don’t think it matters. But I do know that the experience at the Catholic Worker is one that I will keep with me for a long time. I think it’s opened my eyes a little bit more, broke my heart a little bit more, strengthened my faith a little bit more and provided me with a little bit more courage.

-Brittany-

Lubbock in detail July 8th-11th

Above: Second Baptist Lubbock Senior Pastor, Ryon Price and Student Pastor Ben Ondrak.... and Go Now Missions Team

We thought we would catch you up to speed specifically on what we have been up to the last several days......

July 8th, we left the World Hunger Relief Farm to head for Lubbock, TX. This journey would not be sufficient without a stopping quickly for lunch at Steve's Market and Deli. What wonderful food!! It was prepared fresh and the owner said they did their best to incorporate local and organic ingredients. This shop also sold multiple fair-trade and organic items including tea and coffee. We were joined at this dinner by Kate Blackshear, BSM Director at Howard Payne University. She introduced us to a couple of women that are on the Keep Brownwood Beautiful committee. We shared with them what our trip was about and they insisted we follow them to the community garden they have helped to get started in Brownwood. What a garden!!!! The city chose to use some of their stimulus package money for a community garden that is phenomenal - and they are not able to provide fresh, organic produce to community members.

From this stop we pressed onward to Lubbock, TX where we would spend time with the Southwest Plains Food Bank.

While in Lubbock, TX July 8th - 11th, we were hosted by the Southwest Plains Food Bank Director, David Weaver, and staff person Vangela Perryman. The moment we arrived in Lubbock the staff had a BBQ dinner prepared for us to eat and welcomed us with hugs and smiles to begin our time with them. It was obvious from our first greeting that their jobs at the Food Bank were more than jobs to them.

The next day we visited various aspects of the work the Food Bank does in the city of Lubbock: Kid's Cafe providing nutritious summer meals at summer feeding sites for children that need it, the youth worker program called the Grubb Farm that provided part-time jobs to qualifying youth while teaching them how to farm and provide fresh fruits and vegetables to families in the community and finally, the main area of the food bank. In each of these settings we encountered folks that loved their jobs and believed in what they did every day. The staff shared story after story of folks whose lives had been changed by the food bank, including their own!

The Grubb Farm mentioned above.....

The wagon (strategically built by engineer students at Texas Tech) used by the Grubb Farm Youth to take produce to the Downtown Art/Farmer's Market to sell. Amazing!!!

We walked away realizing the power in the love and care that exists behind a vision...... This food bank is successful because they put people and quality food first.

We also spent time with Cal at Apply Country Orchards which was wonderful!! He is working to help make the SNAP program more easily accessible for folks at all Farmer's Markets in TX.


After lots of FREE and WONDERFUL meals from Vangela's Household, David Weaver and other friends in Lubbock, we concluded our experience with a visit to the downtown Art and Farmer's market to purchase fresh food specifically from the Grubb Farm Teens to support their upcoming trip to the Rooted in Community Conference. They had been saving to go on this trip but the recent rain in Lubbock flooded their farm and they were not able to sell or use much of hte produce they had been hoping to harvest :(. The produce we bought from them supplied our future lunches and snacks on the road and in San angelo!

On July 11th, we worshipped with friends at Second Baptist Church...sharing in the College Sunday School Class and the class of David Weaver about our trip thus far. Both the Student Minister, Ben Ondrak and Senior Pastor, Ryon Price.

That Sunday so happened to be focused on the story of the Good Samaritan from scripture. It was a convicting and beautiful message that seemed too fitting for the questions and thoughts we had on the trip to that point. It was a welcoming and beautiful worship experience...Thank you Second Baptist!!

Thank you Lubbock and Southwest Plains Food Bank for being so hospitable and teaching us how to lead and run food services and ministries without losing focus.

Fun Feeding Frenzy Fotos!

Here are a few of the many foods that we have encountered along the way on our trip...just thoughtI'd share them with yall.

Dani :-)

GoNow has a New Meaning

Since we travel so much and are only able to spend small amounts of time in a city, we aren't able to really connect with the people in a way that we see how we have impacted them. However after we have left I can definitely say that everytime they impact us or at least me. My favorite stop thus far that we have served at was in San Angelo. Here we were able to spend much more time in one ministry than we had previously been able to serve. By this I mean that even though we are shown many different areas of service and work there with the people we never spend more than an hour in a place at one time. However here at the soup kitchen we spent our entire morning with the people cooking food for homeless and people that are just down on their luck. When we arrived there was only one lady there who was only supposed to stay to open the door and then leave. After we were shown around we got a call that the other team was not going to make it and panic spread across most of our faces since we had no idea what we were supposed to do and none of us had never cooked food for a group of the size we were about to feed. Therefore the lady that was supposed to go decided to stay and assist us in our endeavor to cook. We began to divide up chores and set to preparing the afternoon meal. After about two hours of preparation for the meal it was time to begin letting the people in to be served. They lined up and were served enchiladas to start with and soup if they wanted. As the enchiladas ran out they were given meat and potatoes and spinach with rolls. Then came the three giant trays of spaghetti that we had cooked. The previous two entrees were cooked previously we simply heated them. As the people filed in, we saw young good looking people, older folks shuffling in , families with little children and people from al different backgrounds and not one of them was denied a meal. All of the meals were hot and every plate was served piled high. At one point we had to stop serving because there we not enough seats for everyone to sit. I mostly stayed in the kitchen to help with random tasks that would come up and I wanted to go out and talk to the people so badly but I couldn't conjure up the courage to talk. I am a shy person and so I stayed in the kitchen until the very end. I felt terrible because I know how much most of those people just want someone to talk to, I figured the girls that were out there were enough. I got to thinking this should be easy for me to do since I do the same thing at the Salvation army in my college town, but I couldn't until I went out to eat myself. I made a plate of food for myself and went to sit at a table where there was a man and his son sitting. Almost immediately I was having a great conversation with them as if it was natural. It made me feel better about myself and even though our conversation was cut short I was glad I had gotten to talk to someone. I wish it had been longer but that was what I got for waiting. What I learned looking back was that these people don't have forever to wait on us to go and talk to them. They are there for an instant and leave just as soon. We can't sit on the sidelines feeling sorry for ourselves because we're scarred to talk, if these people don’t hear and you were right there to get the message to them, then shame on us. God didn’t ever sit in the kitchen and wait till everyone was gone, he didn't even second guess himself he dove head first into the crowds without a thought and I hope and pray that I can have the courage and the wisdom that God had. People are people no matter where you go and they are more like us than we would often times like to admit. I know that if I was that person sitting alone I would have loved to talk.

Dani :-)
Isaiah 6:8 "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'"

San Angelo

Yours truly,
Chelsea Jenkins
"Bam Bam"