In the Bible a little boy’s loaves and fishes was enough to feed 5,000.  And have some left over.  Amazing what God can do, isn’t it?

⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages^[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” John 6: 5-14

What is Loaves & Fishes?
“Loaves & Fishes is a nonprofit emergency food pantry program which provides a week’s worth of groceries to people in crisis in Charlotte Mecklenburg. Loaves & Fishes began in 1975 when a handful of people in our community recognized the growing hunger needs in our area and opened a single food pantry to address those needs. In 1975, Loaves & Fishes fed approximately 1,000 people. Since 1975, Loaves & Fishes has grown to a network of 19 pantries located throughout Mecklenburg County. Loaves & Fishes served 126,803 people in 2012.”

48% of those fed by Loaves and Fishes are children.

Zoe teens met and immediately took a tour of the warehouse.  We saw the big orange cylinders that Harris Teeter keep in their stores for food donations.  I have never donated food in these before, really not knowing much about where it went.

We learned the difference between a food pantry and a food bank.   A food bank receives a large amount of food from vendors and the Department of Agriculture.  A food pantry deals with consumers, those who need the food, directly.   A food bank gives food to Loaves and Fishes.  These carrots were a donation from Second Harvest Food Bank and had to be processed quickly.  There is also a refrigeration and freezer unit located in the warehouse for perishables.

Often, Loaves and Fishes is a food rescue, rescuing food with a short shelf life and getting it to people before it goes bad.  If you are a local business and have food that needs to go somewhere, please consider Loaves and Fishes.

Food is sorted by cans; vegetables, fruit, miscellaneous dry goods, and cereal.  Huge bins are filled with thousands of pounds of food.

 

Canned good are sorted one layer deep to keep the crates from getting too heavy.  Many of the volunteers at the individual pantries are older adults.  Canned good are packet 4 crates high;  Dry goods are packed 5 crates high to a pallet.

The kids emptied one bin after another.

Every year, The Boy Scouts in Charlotte participate in a huge food drive called, Scouting For Food.

 Click here to see video on the Boy Scouts, Scouting For Food Drive.

They canvas neighborhoods leaving paper grocery bags at doorsteps and mailboxes.  If you receive a bag, would you consider packing it full of food?

And He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” Mark 6:38

Go and look. Because, really, the people who need food look just like us.  They are our neighbors.  And, really, we are like the little boy with the bread and fish.  Our little, together,  goes a long way.

And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. Mark 6: 41

Today a truck had come in filled with these bags, full of food.

Within 10 minutes, our group was able to get all the food out of the truck and into bins.

“Many hands make light work.”

 John Heywood quotes (English Playwright and Poet, 1497-1580)

The operations manager said that volunteers sort an average of 4,000 pounds in 2 hours.

In all, the kids and adults processed and packed more than 6,000 pounds of food.  Over 3 tons in 2 hours.

Wanna Get involved too?
You can!  From volunteering in the warehouse, answering phones, donating food, or raising money.  Some creative and easy ways to help are:

• Birthday Parties – Ask attendees to bring canned goods in honor of the birthday child
• Lemonade Stands – Children sometimes hold lemonade sales to benefit Loaves & Fishes
• Party with a Purpose – Hold a dinner or any gathering and collect canned goods for Loaves & Fishes

Even a child can do it.  Jesus put to use a little boy.