Emory Fellowship United Methodist Church and its nonprofit arm Emory Beacon of Light collaborate with Bread of Life, Inc. for a food and household supplies drive on Aug. 24. (Courtesy of Emory United Fellowship via Facebook)
Emory Fellowship United Methodist Church and its nonprofit arm Emory Beacon of Light collaborate with Bread of Life, Inc. for a food and household supplies drive on Aug. 24. (Courtesy of Emory United Fellowship via Facebook)

The pastor and members of Emory Fellowship United Methodist Church, in Northwest, D.C., teamed up with a Houston organization to not only distribute truckloads of food and household goods on Saturday, Aug. 24, in preparation for the back-to-school season, but connect with the community in meaningful and transformative ways.

“We distributed food and household products to more than 1100 people,” said Emory’s pastor, the Rev. Joseph Daniels. “Each person who came through the line got a bag of food and a box of personal household goods. 

Emory Beacon of Light, Inc. (EBOL), the nonprofit arm of the Ward 4 church, collaborated with Bread of Life, Inc., one of the largest nonprofit food and household distributors from South Texas to Florida, to execute the critical community event. 

Founded in 1996, EBOL is dedicated to empowering marginalized communities by offering a range of services and programs and the recent food and household giveaway with Bread of Life furthers that mission.. 

“We are doing this because the need is so great in our community,” said Daniels. “Our mission is simple – offering every broken-hearted person a whole life— from Georgia Avenue to across the globe. Food insecurity is rampant here, and this mass distribution event is our response to help meet the need.” 

The event accommodated drive-throughs and walk-ups to assist the more than 500 families in attendance, who received essential food items as well as personal and household supplies. 

“We are honored to extend our mission to Washington, D.C., and collaborate with Emory Beacon of Light to address the pressing issue of food insecurity,” said Pastor Rudy Rasmus, executive director of Bread of Life. “By coming together, we can make a meaningful impact and provide essential support to families in need.” 

In addition to the Emory and Bread of Life collaboration, community partners included: BHI Construction and Real Estate Development, Fertile Ground, Crowder Owens Food Bank, Spaces in Action, and Matthew 25 Ministries.

Through various programming, Bread of Life currently serves over 15,000 individuals per month through food and supply distributions across several Southern states. 

This venture with Emory Beacon of Light and Emory Fellowship, offering monthly food and supplies drives, provides Bread of Life to expand its reach and further its mission of addressing hunger inequities. 

“We plan to do this every month with the hope of spreading a campaign to eradicate hunger and food insecurity,” said Daniels.

Hamil Harris is an award-winning journalist who worked at the Washington Post from 1992 to 2016. During his tenure he wrote hundreds of stories about the people, government and faith communities in the...

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