The Story of Bread Ministry
*Story submitted by Elaine Gregory
Our country is truly blessed with abundance from the Lord, in spiritual as well as physical resources. The variety and amount of food available to us in our culture is astounding. Grocery stores and restaurants are overflowing and sometimes cannot sell all of their wares. The bounty of extra, unsold food is where we come in, the community of North Heights!
In addition to our partnership with Ruby’s Pantry, our church also has a team of dedicated volunteers who help distribute unsold but still fresh food to hungry people around the Twin Cities every day of the week. For over 20 years, North Heights Bread Ministry has been picking up all sorts of goods from grocery stores, warehouses, bakeries, and restaurants and delivering to local food shelves, churches, senior homes, mobile home parks, shelters, and programs such as Union Gospel Mission, Metro Hope, and Breaking Free. Food is given and received free of charge.
The team serves faithfully week in and week out, through all kinds of weather and busy seasons. They donate their energy, time, and mileage in this effort. Many who receive food know it is delivered by North Heights Church, in the name of Jesus.
Faith is built as people see how God provides. We find joy in helping meet the need, especially hearing of recipients’ gratitude. A lady has shared that she is able to make ends meet each month by stretching her food budget with free bread for sandwiches. A hearing-impaired gentleman waits patiently for food to arrive each Thursday morning at his Little Canada mobile home park. He cheerfully helps unload before taking his needed items. Several sweet ladies watch for their favorite Cub cinnamon bread (The park manager has been known to hide it for them in his office until they come in). Beautiful cakes from Kowalski’s bakery are appreciated by the chef at Metro Hope, as he shared, “It’s always someone’s birthday here!”
The Tuesday morning bread team has been operating for decades. They get up very early and haul a trailer to a warehouse in St Paul to pick up huge amounts of bread products. This is distributed for free to any walk ins at North Heights Roseville Fellowship Hall, with some items taken to our Arden Hills location (by Door B) and also to other churches, senior homes, etc.
We are currently seeking volunteers to occasionally sub for the early Tuesday morning pickup and delivery, from St. Paul to Roseville. If you have a truck with trailer hitch, please pray about helping with this need.
Other volunteers would be welcome to serve as substitutes for the various daily routes. New pickups and delivery connections could also be established by asking food sources to share their surplus. If you know of a willing source, drop off locations can surely be found.
Please ask the Lord if He would have you serve. You will enjoy the blessings of being God’s hands and feet to help feed the hungry. To volunteer, contact Mark 651-208-6248.