By Les Gura
Slowly, people gathered Saturday morning on the porch of the Mount Moriah Outreach Center on Jefferson Street in Kernersville, an older building on a sprawling five acres. Volunteers (above) directed newcomers where to line up and park, and then directed them inside. In small groups, the visitors were led to the basement of the non-denominational church to pick up a box containing bread, meats and non-perishable foods that might help them through a few days.
Mount Moriah has operated its monthly food bank for four years, and Bishop Todd Fulton (pictured below in pew), who began the Outreach Center with his wife, daughter and two others back in 2003, believes it is the essence of what churches should do.
“The common thread between all people is pain and suffering,’’ Fulton says. “So you reach out to people suffering and in pain and you give them a relevant message.’’
It’s a particularly relevant message in this area because in the spring, the Washington-based Food Research and Action Center released its new ranking on food insecurity, and the Greensboro-High Point-Winston-Salem metro area was ranked No. 1 in the country. The rankings are based on the percentage of households in which members say they didn’t have enough money to buy food at some time during the past year.
Interest in food justice
“We want to save the community, and the church is the community, but we don’t live in the community,’’ Fulton says.
Mount Moriah is located in a well-settled neighborhood, and Fulton lives in a home next door to the Outreach Center with his wife, Judith. She’s right there with him on food bank mornings, handing people their boxes and making sure volunteers carry or assist people with the boxes.
Behind the Outreach Center is a three-tiered community garden with fresh fruit and vegetables. Still a work in progress, it is tended by church and community members. Behind the garden is a hen house with just four hens that produce about half a dozen eggs a week. Fulton hopes the church members learn more about chicken farming and that they can add hens.
Because of government regulations, the fresh foods grown in the community garden can’t be mixed with the goods given on the third Saturday, which come from Second Harvest Food Bank and the federal government, Fulton says.
He believes as the community garden grows, it will become as important as the food bank to those who take advantage because fresh produce helps people eat healthier and avoid chronic diseases that can be brought on by poor diet choices.
An asset for those in need
The folks who visit the food bank get to know Fulton and church volunteers — such as Tonya Ingram, who heads the food bank — on a first-name basis. Many have come since the program began.
“Every third Saturday you can count on this place being open,’’ says James Kay of Belews Creek. “They’re always happy to see you. They’re always helpful.’’
“It’s an asset because it helps meet our family’s nutritional needs,’’ says Val Byrd of Winston-Salem, who’s been coming to the food bank for about six months.
Fulton says he is amazed by the stream of people needing help. A typical food bank Saturday will bring 85 families — about half from Kernersville and half from throughout the region — to Mount Moriah.
“The people we see are not deadbeats,’’ Fulton says. “They don’t want to be in the situation they are in. I call them the working poor. They have jobs, but they’re not making enough money.’’
Then there are the retirees whose pensions or Social Security can’t begin to cover their cost of living.
“What do you say to someone who worked 30 years of their life and thought they were taking care of themselves?” Fulton asks. “We have people retired from domestic work; they get $800 to $900 a month in pension. Some of these people are diabetic, and spend $300 to $400 a month in medications. These are honest, hardworking people like you and I. They don’t want to come to the food bank but they have no choice.”
Spreading the word
Fulton’s work is making an impact throughout the region. In addition to leading Mount Moriah Outreach Center, he is president of the Ministers’ Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity, an organization that works to promote social, economic and educational change in the community.
The Ministers’ Conference, for example, is behind a new community garden being launched at the Cleveland Avenue Homes public housing development in Winston-Salem.
The Ministers Conference also is working with the Division of FaithHealth at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, and recently held a “service of union.’’ The service commemorated the organizations’ joint commitment to changing attitudes and helping those in need.
As for Mount Moriah Outreach Center, Fulton says he expects food justice, “to be something we’ll do for the tenure of this ministry.’’ His parish, about 100 members strong, is firmly behind the effort. In fact, Mount Moriah contributes food boxes monthly for FaithHealthNC clients in Winston-Salem.
Parishioners support the food bank not just with their volunteer hours, but with monetary donations (Mount Moriah purchases its food from Second Harvest Food Bank for $800 a month).
One of the many rewards church members receive in return for their donations of time and money are heartfelt cards and letters from the people they see on Food Bank Saturdays.
“We read them every Sunday morning,’’ Fulton says.
