As the summer came, so did the presence of more homeless encampments in Minneapolis. Victims of trafficking, mental illness, addiction, sexual abuse, unemployment, and homeless youth are all a part of those we come in contact with weekly. While distributing meals and offering prayer, we offer hope and practical ways for individuals to take their next step toward holistic health and wholeness.

One of them men we have developed a relationship with opened up and candidly remarked, “Man, you guys need to give us incentives, or else you’re just enabling us to keeping living like this.” So we not only invited him to volunteer at our food shelf as a part of a small incentive, but we started to make plans to start the Food Access & Community Empowerment (FACE) program. This program will empower those who are low-income, food-insecure, and struggling to provide for their own physical needs to live independently, safely and participate in giving back to their community through participating in our food shelf and meal distribution programs. It will not only expand access to food to those under-served, but will also help individuals move from food recipients to empowered stakeholders in their own communities.