Opportunities to meet the needs of the hungry are plentiful here in our own communities. Refer to the Birmingham Baptist Association’s Ministry Opportunity Guide found online. In this guide, you can read about and get contact information for a variety of hunger-related ministries, including:

• Brother Bryan Mission
• Community Kitchens of Birmingham
• Disaster Relief
• First Light
• Food for Friends
• Greater Birmingham Ministries
• Helpline Christian Outreach Ministries
• Jimmie Hale Mission
• Meals on Wheels
• The Ministry Center at Greensprings
• The Old Firehouse Shelter*
• Pathways*
• The Salvation Army
• Urban Ministry

*Dawson currently has members volunteering as a group at these organizations.  If you are interested in getting plugged into the Dawson group, contact the people below.

Soup Kitchen Ministry at The Old Firehouse Shelter
Every 4th Saturday from 9:30am-12:30pm
Contact: Richard VanVoorhis, 621-8381 or Joey Knox, 585-5373

Pathways Ministry at Pathways Shelter
Contact: Ruth Todd, 942-3160

The above ministries offer opportunities to provide food to people in a variety of contexts (due to disaster, homelessness, food insecurity, etc.).  There are also opportunities to address hunger that are not related to direct food provision, but that also have the impact of meeting the needs of hungry people.  Some of these include:

• Support a family by providing an animal (e.g., a goat that then produces milk).  Heifer International follows this model. The goat project run by Dawson missionaries in Ethiopia does, as well. To find out how you can support this project, contact Ben Hale at ben.hale@dawsonchurch.org.

• Volunteer at a community garden.  PEER, Inc. is a community development group in the eastern area of Birmingham that focuses on promoting health, education, and economic development through a seasonal farmer’s market, a community garden, health classes and more. By volunteering with the community garden or farmer’s market, you help to ensure that low-income and elderly individuals receive nutritious foods.

• Learn about local resources so that you can provide information to those in need whom you may know.  For instance, Angel Food Ministries is a grocery relief organization with several local sites, where good-quality food is distributed at lower costs. Everyone qualifies, and some families choose to participate and then donate the saved money to others in need.

• Play games… yes, that’s right! Play games hosted by organizations that donate food or money to combat hunger based on the amount of participation that people give online. These creative and interactive tools range from Bread Art to Free Rice.