As benefits waver, Elyria churches unite to provide free meals

With grocery prices continuing to rise and federal food assistance in flux, churches, fraternal orders and residents from across Elyria are coming together to feed their neighbors in need. Starting today and continuing throughout November, free dinners will be served at Second Baptist Church, 427 Chapman Lane, for anyone in the community who needs a hot meal, fellowship or community. The first event will be a spaghetti dinner from 4 to 6 p.m. this evening, prepared and provided by the members of Second Baptist. Over the following three weeks, other churches and community organizations will make and serve other dinners using Second Baptist's fellowship room. "It is really open to everybody, we don't care if you have food on your table," Second Baptist pastor Carl Small said on Thursday. "It is open for food, fun and fellowship for those two hours. … We are not asking for IDs, we are not asking what your income is. We are just saying 'come and eat.' That is fellowship." Small said that the idea came about just over a week ago, as members of his church were discussing the impending end of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, program, often referred to as food stamps. Amid the ongoing government shutdown, the program was set to end on Nov. 1 when its funding ran out. A federal judge has since ordered the administration of President Donald Trump to continue paying out benefits in full, but it is unclear if this order will be followed and if there is enough money to fully find the program. "It was really birthed into the idea that the church has to do something," Small said. "We are here, and it is our responsibility not just to spiritually feed people, but to physically feed the people." Aware that the need was too great for his congregation to tackle it alone, Small said he began contacting leaders of other churches to build a mission group to feed those in need. One of the first to receive Small's call was the Rev. Anthony Carter, pastor of Jones African Methodist Episcopal Chapel in Elyria. "In these economic times, with all that is going on in this community that is affecting not just the southside, but all of Elyria and Lorain County, myself and Pastor Small got together and we decided that we need to fill in the gap," Carter said. "... We just thought it would be beneficial if all of us could come together to help feed all those in need." Within days, Small said, 10 local churches as well as several Masonic Orders from across the area had signed on to lead or assist with one of the dinners. Small said that spaghetti would be served today, but each group will plan its own distinct meal. Other churches will hold dinners in Second Baptist on the following days: - Nov. 14: Call Out Church of the Almighty God, True Vine Primitive Baptist Church, Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church and other smaller churches - Nov. 22: The Order of the Eastern Star of Ohio – Lorain and a number of local Masonic Lodges - Nov. 28: Jones AME Chapel and several smaller area churches "I am Godly proud, since I have been here it is the largest mission project we have done, for so many to come together," Carter said. "It is a coming together of people in more ways than one; across faith, across social and economic differences, across race, across political lines, across all the other things that divide us. All the foolishness we can get ourselves into. I just thought it was an amazing thing that we could all come together, set it all aside and see beyond our differences to see the need." The coming together went beyond the church leaders and even their congregations, though. After Small and other pastors informed their congregations of the plan, word quickly spread, thanks in part to the graphic design skills of Carter's wife, Azalea Carter, Small said. Donations began pouring in, and Small said that thanks to that, Second Baptist will be able to provide not only the first meal and the space, but also utensils, containers and paper products for all of the meals. "It says that we have a heart," Small said. "We have a heart for the people, because of the fact from City Hall, I can't say from the county, but from City Hall all the way down it has been an onslaught of what can we do? What do you need? How can we do this?" In addition to money and time from congregants and strangers, Small said the mission has received donations from myriad non-profit organizations, City Council members and businesses like Sam's Club and Gordon Food Services. Carter said that the organizers were originally planning their meals for between 300 and 350 people, but that with how word has spread throughout the city, his church would be ready for more on Nov. 28. "Right now, I know Jones Chapel and I think other churches as well, are overpreparing because the word is out," he said. "We think people are hearing, and we want to make sure that we can feed as many people as possible." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.