Our CEO, Joseph Williams, recently used the phrase “Walking by faith, responding in obedience” to summarize our year at Feed the Hunger. Truth be told, God has been taking us on this type of journey for longer than just 2016. But this year, perhaps more so than others, God was gracious to show us some glimpses of the good fruit that is born from walking with Him in faith while remaining obedient to what He has called you to do.
To me there is no clearer example of God’s blessing resulting from obediently following Him this year than that of the All-American Packathon. In February, Joseph announced to our staff that he felt burdened to hold a campaign to increase the amount of food on hand that could be shared with our neighbors here in the United States. He felt that we needed more food to respond both to the increased requests from various parts of the US to share our food through food banks and to help people recovering from natural disasters.
As a staff, we could confirm this burden from God, so we set a goal to raise the sponsorship for a full container—around 275,000 meals—to have on hand to deploy when God made it obvious to us. We didn’t have a specific destination in mind for the food, but we all kept our radar up for places in the US where this food could make a real difference. In generous fashion, God abundantly supplied 312,240 meals through your giving and your time spent packing.
Before we had the last meal packed, God was showing us ways He intended this food to be used. After several years of no major natural disasters in our country, we saw a significant increase in the number of incidents. Historic flooding in Charleston, WV and Baton Rouge, LA occurred over the summer. Then Hurricane Matthew, the first major landfalling hurricane in almost nine years, struck the North Carolina and South Carolina coasts, causing unprecedented flooding in both of those regions.
Thanks to the All-American campaign, we were ready to distribute over 165,000 meals, most of them served hot to displaced residents in the three affected regions. We partnered with two ministries, CitiImpact and Operation BBQ Relief, to share meals with those in the flood zones. Our meal packets were cooked on location with butter, mixed vegetables, and shredded chicken—a delicious gift to those in need.
You would be surprised at how much a take-out tray of our fortified Rice and Beans meant to people forced to leave their homes due to rising waters. As one man in Fayetteville, NC put it to us, “You are trying to go through your wet stuff trying to decide what you can keep and what must be thrown away when a stranger shows up with a hot meal prepared for you and your family. It’s as if God is saying, ‘I haven’t forgotten you, I’m still with you!’”
Our increased inventory also allowed us to share more food with students living below the poverty line in eastern Kentucky. At the start of 2016, we were sending food home on weekends to students in four elementary schools. Now, we are helping students from 13 schools in eastern Kentucky.
As we look back on this year, we can see how walking by faith and responding in obedience produced ministry that only God could do. Thank you to each of you who had a role in praying, giving, or packing. God used your gifts in a special way. Let’s rejoice together and praise God for the great things He has done!
Scott Hahn | Packathon Director
