Every Saturday morning at 6:00am, Steve Gray picks up his phone to check the parking lot cameras at New Beginnings Christian Fellowship (NBCF), where he serves as Chief Operating Officer. That first glance gives him a sense of how many families will be showing up to receive food that day.
“We’ll often already have 25 cars lined up at 6:30am for a food distribution which beings at 9:00am.” Each weekend, NBCF offers free food to the community, delivering boxes of quality groceries—fresh produce, meats, canned goods, bread, beverages, eggs—directly into the trunks of waiting cars.
When we visited NBCF on a recent Saturday morning, we stood in awe of the efficiency and organization of the food distribution. We were even more impressed by the joy, love, and kindness which radiated from the more than 25 volunteers who run the operation each week.
Why do they do this work? Steve was quick to answer: “Because people shouldn’t be hungry. We are going to do it until no one is hungry.”
NBCF’s feeding ministry began in late 2019, just before the Covid-19 pandemic. They were initially able to fit all the food they picked up from Food Lifeline into the back of a small SUV. They distributed food to a total of about three waiting cars those first weeks. But word began to spread, and before long they had 20 to 30 cars waiting. And then during the pandemic, things really took off.
Today, NBCF feeds more than 8,000 people every month. The week prior to our conversation with Steve in early November, they’d picked up over 9,000 pounds of food from Food Lifeline—which would all be distributed in one week’s time. Their one small SUV is no longer sufficient; NBCF now has a partnership with Renton U-Haul to secure trucks to supply the food pantry!
While the numbers are impressive, Steve pointed out that this ministry is not about numbers. Every one of those numbers represents real people, and relationships with those people are at the heart of NBCF’s food distribution ministry.
Steve reflected, “Do you remember that TV show ‘Cheers’? You always want to be in a place where everyone knows your name. It’s like that.” Volunteers at the NBCF feeding ministry get to know the people who come to receive food. They recognize them. They welcome them. They appreciate them.
Like the Vietnamese woman who always takes Steve’s hand when she greets him and offers to pray together. Like the Ukrainian man who always seeks a bottle of cooking oil each visit. Like the fellow whose battery needs a jump nearly every month as he waits in the line of cars.
When you look across the parking lot on a Saturday morning, people aren’t sitting alone in their cars as they wait in line. They stand outside their cars. They interact. This food ministry is about far more than food. It’s community-building in action.
The food program is also about far more than just Saturday mornings. Of the thousands of people fed each week through NBCF, about half of them are families who participate in the Saturday drive-up distribution. The other half receives food from intermediary organizations who visit NBCF on weekdays to pick up food and distribute it to their members. This includes schools, YMCAs, churches, and other social service agencies. NBCF is building and serving community well beyond their own grounds.
We asked Steve how current federal policies are impacting the people NBCF serves. First and foremost, the number of people needing help has increased significantly. “In October we fed more people than we’ve ever fed—over 9,000. And it is going to get worse before it gets better.”
A diverse array of immigrant communities relies on this feeding ministry. Over the summer, ICE activity at a different food pantry nearby contributed to an increase in the number of people turning specifically to NBCF. “People know we are a safe place. We have trained our outward facing ministries and security team about interactions, in case we are ever approached by ICE.” And Steve added, “We will strongly support our private property rights and protect the folks on our campus.”
NBCF is proud of the welcome and safety they offer to immigrant neighbors. Their primary intake volunteer, Carol, has taken the time to learn enough of each language spoken in the parking lot Saturday mornings so that she can communicate with and genuinely welcome Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Spanish, and French speakers. It’s a small gesture which goes a long way to building relationships.
Steve shared that NBCF appreciates how the Renton Regional Community Foundation demonstrates a similar commitment to the importance of relationships. When NBCF served as the venue for our Celebrate! The Love of Community event last May, NBCF Pastor Leslie Braxton was thrilled to see the church’s lobby filled up with RRCF partners in our Nonprofit Showcase. The partnership between NBCF and RRCF is a match made in heaven—since building community and making connections are integral to each of us.
In addition, the grants which NBCF has received through our CARE Together Fund have helped purchase key infrastructure for their food ministry—including food warmers, tents for inclement weather, communications devices, and storage racks for the pantry.
“We appreciate RRCF not just for what you’ve done for us but for what you have done for other agencies. We are all fighting the same battle. What RRCF does for others is helping us too, because you are helping the community.”
As we wrapped up our conversation with Steve, he shared that this year Pastor Braxton is focusing his preaching on the “red letters” of Scripture—a reference to the practice in many Bibles of using red ink specifically for words spoken by Jesus. There are “many people who want to beat up on folks with the Bible” by focusing on specific books and passages. Yet, as Steve remarked, “Jesus didn’t beat people up. He was love. Most of the problems in this world can be solved by loving each other. And that’s what New Beginnings Christian Fellowship is going to do.”