God is aware, even of our conversations, and what’s in our hearts. (Psalm 139:1–2)
Recently Pastors Kevin Campbell-White and his wife, Jeni, drove by some tiny houses that had been set up for people who are homeless in Vancouver, Washington. They shared with each other that it would be nice if their church – Hillcrest Nazarene - could help in some way. It was a passing thought. But then, “I think it was two or three days later, we got this random phone call” and the church office manager left a note on the pastor’s desk about “some place that wants to do something with food,” perhaps just a fake call? But Pastor Kevin followed up. He learned the call was legitimate from “a Chipotle down the road” that was ready to open. “And during their training week they make hundreds of pounds of food,” but the training food may not be up to their standards “and they just throw it all away.” But, instead, “they were asking if we would be willing to come pick up the food” and determine the best place to take it to help people in need. (Rather hear our full interview?)
“Really, the first thing that went through my head was, ‘Oh my goodness, we just talked about providing food for this, but we had no idea how to make those details come together, and now here’s the food being provided by God so that all we have to do is do the legwork!’”
Pastor Kevin checked with members of the church and got a definite ‘yes’ that they would help distribute the food for the homeless.
So, over a five-day period, Chipotle cooked up more than 1,500 pounds of meals. “I’m telling you, the people in our church were so excited. We had more than 30 volunteers show up twice-a-day" and they were sent to specific locations in Vancouver and nearby Portland to pass out the grilled Mexican meals.
For the church volunteers, “It was super fun. Sometimes we’d stop alongside of the road” when they spotted a homeless camp and say, “‘Hey guys, do you want something to eat?’ And they were rather hesitant, and we were like ‘It’s hot fresh Chipotle’ and they were like, ‘really?’” That resulted in a lot of smiles and thank yous. “It was kind of exciting as we just got the be the hands and feet of Jesus and distribute all of this food.”
And Pastor Kevin made sure he returned to Chipotle and shared that the restaurant’s “willingness to do the extra work,” saving and packaging the food so the church could distribute it, was blessing so many people in the community during the winter season. That really encouraged the Chipotle employees and managers. It was like a full-circle of joy – a great meal for the homeless, a wonderful experience for the church team, and a warm feeling for the restaurant team. Win-win-win.
And, as you’ll learn in our complete podcast interview just below, the relationship struck between the local Chipotle and the folks at Hillcrest Church of the Nazarene is going to continue with regular food donations going into the community.
