SUMTER, S.C. — A food trailer has just been launched in Sumter to bring hot meals to people in the community who are struggling.
In Sumter, people experiencing homelessness tell me it can be hard to find food, especially a hot meal. News 19 spoke to one man who did not want to go on camera, but he did tell me about what he sees as a need for resources in the community.
“Especially like on days like this morning and today, you know, it was chilly,” he says. “It's going to warm up this weekend but it's still gonna be chilly afterwards, you know?”
This man tell’s me he has been experiencing homelessness for nearly four years, and says he’s looking forward to getting a hot meal from Bethesda Church of God’s new mobile food trailer.
“A vision that we've had for a couple of years has come to fruition,” the church’s Jonathan Houston explains. “We're carrying this, going to meet those people who are broken and hurting and the less fortunate trying to bring that message of hope to where they're at.”
Houston is a missions representative with the church, which has pulled together funds from its donation pool to buy the Harvest Trailer. With a stove and sink, Houston tells me they’re prepared to put it to use.
‘We don't want it to be just a food truck. We want this to be a ministry truck. So when you see us on the street, yes, we're feeding the homeless but we're building relationships. We're trying to offer hope to those that may not know that there is hope beyond where they're at in their lives,” Houston shares. “You hear ‘the church, the church, the church.’ Well, a lot of times in our mindset, we think of the church as four walls of a building. Well, biblically speaking, the church is the people inside the church. So when we say the church has left the building, we mean the people are going out into the community sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the community.”
Houston says the church is currently working with Sumter United Ministries and is hoping to come out with a regular schedule of where it will be in the community. All the food the church will cook in the trailer will be purchased using donations.
If you’re interested in donating, Houston says you can contribute online or through the app by writing “Harvest Trailer” in the memo.
For information on where and when the trailer will be out in the community, Houston says updates will be posted to the church’s social media pages.