When the day was almost over, the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so that they can go to the nearby villages and countryside and find lodging and food, because we are in a deserted place.”

He replied, “You give them something to eat.”Luke 9:12-13

When Rebekah and I moved to Wake Forest in 2013 we immediately sensed a positive energy in the congregation around hunger ministry. As a church, WFPC took seriously the mandate Jesus threw down when he challenged his disciples with these simple words: “YOU give them something to eat.”

It was a commitment that only grew over the years and in many ways, including Backpack Buddies, Rise Against Hunger, Tri-Area Ministries, international programs, the incomparable Giving Garden, CROP-Walk, restaurant-quality meals for people experiencing homelessness in downtown Raleigh and much more.

Food is something so fundamental to life that it speaks with signal clarity, and is also one of the essential building blocks of community. Breaking bread together; the bread and the wine; “I am the bread of life,” holy communion, “YOU give them something to eat.”

Food Insecurity

The idea that there is still food insecurity here in the land of plenty, this rich and most blessed of nations, is essentially a gut punch, a slap in the face of The American Dream.

So we all do what we can, here and there; we give and we volunteer and sometimes we even step out of our comfort zones and we serve.

For my friend Kevin – in the first photo, with Rebekah – the huge fact of hunger, especially in particular pockets of population known as “food deserts” spoke urgently to him during one of our expeditions to Raleigh to share a hot meal with folk who are hungry. He knew serving was the right place for him to be, but in that moment he also knew that he was called to do more.

So a friend took Kevin out for lunch at one of Raleigh’s most creative downtown restaurants, A Place at the Table. You can read more about this culinary gem by clicking the link but it is – essentially – a top-notch eatery where payment is only necessary if you can.

Kevin knew, in that moment, God was calling him to work towards developing the same concept in Wake Forest. What? Wake Forest? The affluent fast-growing town north of Raleigh? Yes, absolutely. Just head north of downtown and out toward Franklin County. Food desert, food insecurity, poverty, underserved… Wake Forest has it all!

Let’s see this happen!

Kevin’s call came several years ago. But then, and after much of the initial legwork, the Covid pandemic rolled a Mack truck over developing plans. But my friend is tenacious, he sees the long game, and now he has a more focused mission, a board of directors, a location, a non-profit status secured and a step-by-step action plan to put in motion.

So Rebekah and I got together with Kevin yesterday and we talked about WARM café (Welcoming All Regardless of Means) – over a meal of course.

“I have a difficult question for you,” I said. “If I donate, what are the odds that WARM Café actually happens?”

The answer of course resides in the question. It is the generous support of people willing to give that makes the vision work. In other words, my donation answers my question.

Kevin is throwing everything into this plan personally; he has the commitment, the tenacity, the skills, the connections and – most importantly – the faith to make this work. Rebekah and I believe in this mission; we are careful stewards of what we have, and we are not the kind of people to waste scarce resources on wishful thinking.

WARM café – featuring high quality food – will likely anchor a redevelopment initiative that will benefit an entire underserved community. Not via gentrification but through good food and community awareness and respect and honoring the cultural heritage of that part of Wake Forest.

That’s enough for one post! Meanwhile, why don’t you get in contact with Kevin and see what you can do to help? “YOU give them something to eat!”

Peace – DEREK

Food is something so fundamental to life that it speaks with signal clarity, and is also one of the essential building blocks of community.