'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.'
Matthew 25: 37-38, 40
Fifteen years ago, Dave and Lynne Radke came back to Messiah Lutheran after visiting another congregation with an idea.
Once a month members of that congregation brought forward donations of food to support a local food bank. The Radkes saw a need in local foodbanks and wanted to help fill it with a similar idea.
They had no idea how much food would come in, or how long the ministry would last, but they wanted to give it a try. They encouraged the congregation to bring in their donations on the fourth Sunday of every month, and Food on the Fourth at Messiah was born.
This month, Messiah's Food on the Fourth Ministry will go over 200,000 pounds of food donated to Neighbors Helping Neighbors and Lewis River Mobile Food Bank. To put that in context, over the last decade and half, Messiah members and guests have donated the weight of a fully grown blue whale, the largest mammal on the planet.
Food on the Fourth is now an institutional part of Messiah and has found ways to evolve over the years to keep giving with the biggest impact possible.
During Covid, congregants shifted from donating bags of food to donating money earmarked toward food purchases. Every month the Radkes or other volunteers check in with the two beneficiary food banks on their greatest needs, then take that money to Winco to purchase food and other items for the food banks. Those items are then placed in the ministry's distinctive green bags and added to the food donations from the congregation to be placed around the altar on the fourth Sunday of the month.
The shopping trips not only allow them to get the food they need, but they can also pick up other items that those in need may not be able to normally get as SNAP and other assistance benefits don't cover toiletries and other personal items. Food on the Fourth funds have also allowed for simple joys like Birthday cakes for families that otherwise would not have one to celebrate with.
"One man at Lewis River came in and got some hand lotion and came back and thanked them profusely because his hands were so cracked and he couldn't afford it otherwise," said Dave Radke of one example that stood out to him.
Every Monday following the 4th Sunday for the past 15 years, volunteers gather in the church narthex to sort the food and organize for the food banks. Within an hour and half, hundreds of pounds of food are sorted are ready to either be picked up or transported.
This month, one of those pounds of food with be the 200,000th, an amount that seemed unfathomable to the Radkes when the ministry began 15 years ago. In another 15 years, or hopefully less, the ministry will surpass 400,000 pounds of food, and the Radkes would love for more volunteers to help take up the mantle to help get it there. Volunteers keep the ministry running at every spot in the chain – from coordinating with the food banks, shopping for supplies, sorting the food and delivering it and volunteering at the receiving food banks. Dave and Lynne want to keep helping as long as they can but know that someday others will have to carry the baton.
"If somebody has some inkling that they want to do it, we would be happy to mentor," Lynne says.
"As people think of their second career after retirement, this could be one thing where they end up with a passion about," Dave added.
Just as the Food on the Fourth ministry at Messiah sprouted from an idea at another congregation, the ministry at Messiah has helped sprout the idea elsewhere. Visitors to Messiah have carried the idea back to their congregations and numerous former pastoral interns have carried it along with them as well.
So not only is the impact being felt from the 200,000 pounds of items Messiah has donated over the years, but countless thousands of pounds of food and supplies elsewhere across the country.
All that from a simple idea that has led to 100 tons of food for those in need.
Who knows what will come from the next 200,000 pounds?
