Many of you visit Trader Joe’s every week for groceries, but maybe you haven’t realized you are supporting “Not Your Average Joe.” Grace Klein Community could never explore creative ideas, like our Sunday GKC Trade Market, without rescued food.
What is rescued food? It’s the food that community volunteers pick up, right before it finds itself in the dumpster, behind local stores in our community. It’s the food that is close to expiration, with maybe a piece of wilted lettuce in the lunch salad, a bruise on the apple or tomatoes that need to be cooked “right now” into some homemade sauce. Rescued food is the food that is still safe to eat, but not the excellent quality that a store would sell to customers.
The rescued food distributes to many families. Single moms in need of food that helps stretch their budgets to keep on their power. Families that really want to build community with their neighbors, but could never afford to have extra come for dinner. Intentional houses that have extra people living with their families through all kinds of different emergency, temporary and permanent situations who need the extra help with keeping a big family fed. Others have lost jobs, been tight on work, host weekly worship gatherings, serve inner city kids, build friendships with neighbors, visit public service workers, minister to the elderly in retirement homes, fed the widow next door, or serve that mama who is on bedrest.
We cannot explain all the ways this food scatters around our city, sharing hope, demonstrating love, stretching budgets, and growing faith. Mamas are learning how to cook new foods and kids are learning to eat them. Many are considering others around them, making freezer meals, taking friends dinner who are battling hard, and in general considering the world outside their every day. Our eyes have become wide open to the excess waste of food not only in our country, but in our own city, and what we can do about it.
As we wondered how to maximize the rescued food, not just for our monthly food ministry, but for the families that needed equipping to build and grow community in their own every day places, DJ thought about a Sunday GKC Trade Market.
What’s a trade market?
A place where people bring items to trade. Maybe it’s the bag of fish sticks they opened that their kids don’t like? Or the homemade salsa that made 20 jars! Or it’s the lettuce they grew in their tower garden, the “penny item” from Publix, and the “buy one get one” their family does not eat. Then, everyone trades. Maybe they need eggs that come from the GKC chickens, fresh okra from the community garden, or rescued bread for grilled cheese.
We established a prototype group a few months ago to see how it would work, to learn ourselves how to administer, to see if people would share, to see if someone would take the ripe peaches and preserve them, or grill some burgers for a neighbor they have been meaning to invite over… the last four years.
Friends, we are happy to report it works, more than we could hope for or imagine.
People are learning how to cook green beans, freeze milk, make banana bread, preserve squash. People are taking the half used bag of flour that they just happened to pray for and that box of butter that was on their grocery list. People are learning it only takes 10 minutes to pass out rescued flowers to the nursing home ladies or to deliver sweet goodies to their neighborhood fire station. Kids are growing up learning that love does.
People are giving more, weeding in the garden, volunteering in the Give and Take Room, giving to support local ministry efforts, sharing bread with the apartment beside them and the house across from them. You get the idea!!
If you are interested in joining the GKC Trade Market we will anticipate your contribution, your prayers and your crazy God stories of what He does in you and through you. To be added to the GKC Trade Market, you will need to be referred from a participating member. For further information email [email protected]
Many of you visit Trader Joe’s every week for groceries, but maybe you haven’t realized you are supporting “Not Your Average Joe.” Grace Klein Community could never explore creative ideas, like our Sunday GKC Trade Market, without rescued food.
What is rescued food? It’s the food that community volunteers pick up, right before it finds itself in the dumpster, behind local stores in our community. It’s the food that is close to expiration, with maybe a piece of wilted lettuce in the lunch salad, a bruise on the apple or tomatoes that need to be cooked “right now” into some homemade sauce. Rescued food is the food that is still safe to eat, but not the excellent quality that a store would sell to customers.
The rescued food distributes to many families. Single moms in need of food that helps stretch their budgets to keep on their power. Families that really want to build community with their neighbors, but could never afford to have extra come for dinner. Intentional houses that have extra people living with their families through all kinds of different emergency, temporary and permanent situations who need the extra help with keeping a big family fed. Others have lost jobs, been tight on work, host weekly worship gatherings, serve inner city kids, build friendships with neighbors, visit public service workers, minister to the elderly in retirement homes, fed the widow next door, or serve that mama who is on bedrest.
We cannot explain all the ways this food scatters around our city, sharing hope, demonstrating love, stretching budgets, and growing faith. Mamas are learning how to cook new foods and kids are learning to eat them. Many are considering others around them, making freezer meals, taking friends dinner who are battling hard, and in general considering the world outside their every day. Our eyes have become wide open to the excess waste of food not only in our country, but in our own city, and what we can do about it.
As we wondered how to maximize the rescued food, not just for our monthly food ministry, but for the families that needed equipping to build and grow community in their own every day places, DJ thought about a Sunday GKC Trade Market.
What’s a trade market?
A place where people bring items to trade. Maybe it’s the bag of fish sticks they opened that their kids don’t like? Or the homemade salsa that made 20 jars! Or it’s the lettuce they grew in their tower garden, the “penny item” from Publix, and the “buy one get one” their family does not eat. Then, everyone trades. Maybe they need eggs that come from the GKC chickens, fresh okra from the community garden, or rescued bread for grilled cheese.
We established a prototype group a few months ago to see how it would work, to learn ourselves how to administer, to see if people would share, to see if someone would take the ripe peaches and preserve them, or grill some burgers for a neighbor they have been meaning to invite over… the last four years.
Friends, we are happy to report it works, more than we could hope for or imagine.
People are learning how to cook green beans, freeze milk, make banana bread, preserve squash. People are taking the half used bag of flour that they just happened to pray for and that box of butter that was on their grocery list. People are learning it only takes 10 minutes to pass out rescued flowers to the nursing home ladies or to deliver sweet goodies to their neighborhood fire station. Kids are growing up learning that love does.
People are giving more, weeding in the garden, volunteering in the Give and Take Room, giving to support local ministry efforts, sharing bread with the apartment beside them and the house across from them. You get the idea!!
If you are interested in joining the GKC Trade Market we will anticipate your contribution, your prayers and your crazy God stories of what He does in you and through you. To be added to the GKC Trade Market, you will need to be referred from a participating member. For further information email [email protected].
The rescued food distributes to many families. Single moms in need of food that helps stretch their budgets to keep on their power. Families that really want to build community with their neighbors, but could never afford to have extra come for dinner. Intentional houses that have extra people living with their families through all kinds of different emergency, temporary and permanent situations who need the extra help with keeping a big family fed. Others have lost jobs, been tight on work, host weekly worship gatherings, serve inner city kids, build friendships with neighbors, visit public service workers, minister to the elderly in retirement homes, fed the widow next door, or serve that mama who is on bedrest.
A place where people bring items to trade. Maybe it’s the bag of fish sticks they opened that their kids don’t like? Or the homemade salsa that made 20 jars! Or it’s the lettuce they grew in their tower garden, the “penny item” from Publix, and the “buy one get one” their family does not eat. Then, everyone trades. Maybe they need eggs that come from the GKC chickens, fresh okra from the community garden, or rescued bread for grilled cheese.