Serving God isn’t the only thing the congregation at St. Paul Lutheran Church is good at, they’re also good at serving others and meeting the needs of the local community.
The church is in its fifth year of hosting “Feed Levelland,” an event that provides a barbeque meal with sides and dessert, completely free of charge, to raise money for other organizations that provide food for the hungry.
The group asks for at-will donations from those who attend the event, with donations ranging from $1 to as much as participants can give. They also raise funds within the local community in the form of sponsorships and use grant funding, along with church funding, to buy the food and supplies for the free to-go meal.
The event started five years ago when the church recognized a need in the local community.
“Our pastor decided we needed to do something for the needy and the hungry and the homeless in town,” said Carl McDonald, church member. “We can cook good and we like to cook. We decided we could do a brisket dinner at no charge with an at-will donation.”
The community responded to the event. They served around 250 plates that first year and raised about $2,600 for local organizations.
“We turn that money right back around to organizations within the community like Meals on Wheels, Bills Backpacks, the Hockley County Food Box, and others,” McDonald said. “We send some to the Food Bank in Lubbock and the Food Bank at South Plains College. We don’t keep any of the money.”
The money that is raised comes straight from those within the community who also see the need and feel like they can give back.
“We raised it all from our friends and neighbors here in town,” McDonald said. “Every year they donate between $2,000 and $5,000 and that money’s not touched. It goes straight to those organizations.”
McDonald said when the idea was floated several years ago, he didn’t realize such a need existed. But when they started hosting the event, it became evident that there were many people without enough to eat right here in town.
“I opened my eyes and discovered there’s a lot of truth to it,” McDonald said. “We’ve had people in the past call and say you gave me too much food. It’s a really good feeling.”
Now in its fifth year, McDonald said the church continues to host the event because it fills a gap in the local community. Not only does it feed people directly, but it also bridges the community with organizations that feed the hungry year-round.
“When you open your heart, you see the need,” McDonald said.
Anyone who is willing to get involved, either by volunteering or simply coming to the annual event to enjoy a good meal is encouraged to do so.
“We do one thing really good here besides worship the Lord, and that’s cook,” McDonald said. “So if you want some good food, if you want to help, give us a call, we’ll find a spot for you. It’s a job that pays well.”
The planning for the event begins about three weeks prior to, with the purchasing of food and materials, as well as planning for who is going to cook what and when it will be ready.
McDonald said the group cooked enough food this year to feed between 400 and 450 people. Last year, they cooked enough to feed 300 and ran out quickly. McDonald says typically, they run out of food after an hour, but have never had food past an hour and a half.
This year, the event raised $7,300 with more than $5,000 coming in the form of donations prior to the event, and raising $2,200 at the door from at-will donations. McDonald said this is the best response they have ever had and most money they have raised.
All in all, McDonald said people are “just good,” and he believes the church will continue to host this event as a way to raise money and to help those in need.
“You’re supposed to help folks,” McDonald said. “This is the way we can help feed our local people with free barbeque brisket meal and then take the money we’ve raised and send it even further out into the community through the other feeding ministries that are always in need of money to buy food to help feed people.”