A message from the Executive Director: |
Feed By Grace began as -- and still remains -- a gardening ministry. We build
raised bed vegetable gardens designed to grow nutritional food for hungry
or low income folks. Initially, we encouraged churches and/or schools to
participate so they could grow and then donate to the food bank. However,
its always been our vision to cut out the "middle man" (the food bank) and
take the gardens directly to the people in need.
Our involvement in homeless ministry began in early 2004 when we were
asked to build gardens for the women and children's program of the
Presbyterian Night Shelter. The Lord had placed a burden for the homeless
within my heart years earlier. After building these gardens, I spoke with the
president of the neighborhood association where the shelters are located
about the possibility of finding other locations for gardens, especially where
homeless men might be able to get involved. The timing of this
conversation was perfect (as usual, GOD'S timing is what's perfect), as she
owned property that she was trying to combine with other properties of
different business owners to then donate to the city to have turned into a
small city park for the homeless. That transaction never materialized, which I
consider a blessing. She then leased that small parcel of land to Feed By
Grace, with the understanding that we would use it to minister to the
homeless AND to try to bring together the many church groups and
outreaches that come down to E. Lancaster every Saturday to feed the
homeless. That Saturday "feeding frenzy" has been a big sore spot for the
neighborhood, since, on any given Saturday, 15-30 groups come down to
hand out food, causing major safety issues (people constantly crossing
Lancaster back and forth) as well as major litter issues, not to mention the
OVERKILL factor of so much food for a group that's not hungry in the least
by 10am.
So here we are, with a half an acre of land, a 1200 sq. ft. building, and an
ambitious vision. The purpose of the land is to create a spiritual haven for
the homeless, as well as a place for recreation. We have begun building the
park, which will have a basketball court, a volleyball net, vegetable gardens,
a biblical walking path, picnic tables, and plenty of shade. We hope to have
it open 6 days a week (this is where we will really need volunteers). We
have begun and will continue to encourage the "Saturday Feeders" to bring
their efforts to the park and coordinate with other groups so that we can
minister to the homeless in a unified and thus more effective manner.
The building (which was a bar for years) will be converted to an office and a
classroom setting. In it we will have Christian books to be checked out, cold
water on summer days, hot coffee on winter days, restrooms (a huge need
for "street people"), computer training, bible studies, personal mentoring,
life skills training, vocational training, and anything else the Lord opens the
door to. I am a landscaper, and will institute a program where I hire 4 men at
a time, train them in landscaping in a 12 week program, and then place them
into permanent employment if and when they successfully complete the
program, and then start a new 12 week program with 4 more individuals. My
hope is that other business owners will catch the vision and come down and
start something similar within their respective trade.
In the meantime, our vision and mission will not waiver, as we will not rest
until homelessness has been eliminated in Fort Worth and surrounding
communities.
In His name,
Neale Mansfield
Executive Director
Feed By Grace
raised bed vegetable gardens designed to grow nutritional food for hungry
or low income folks. Initially, we encouraged churches and/or schools to
participate so they could grow and then donate to the food bank. However,
its always been our vision to cut out the "middle man" (the food bank) and
take the gardens directly to the people in need.
Our involvement in homeless ministry began in early 2004 when we were
asked to build gardens for the women and children's program of the
Presbyterian Night Shelter. The Lord had placed a burden for the homeless
within my heart years earlier. After building these gardens, I spoke with the
president of the neighborhood association where the shelters are located
about the possibility of finding other locations for gardens, especially where
homeless men might be able to get involved. The timing of this
conversation was perfect (as usual, GOD'S timing is what's perfect), as she
owned property that she was trying to combine with other properties of
different business owners to then donate to the city to have turned into a
small city park for the homeless. That transaction never materialized, which I
consider a blessing. She then leased that small parcel of land to Feed By
Grace, with the understanding that we would use it to minister to the
homeless AND to try to bring together the many church groups and
outreaches that come down to E. Lancaster every Saturday to feed the
homeless. That Saturday "feeding frenzy" has been a big sore spot for the
neighborhood, since, on any given Saturday, 15-30 groups come down to
hand out food, causing major safety issues (people constantly crossing
Lancaster back and forth) as well as major litter issues, not to mention the
OVERKILL factor of so much food for a group that's not hungry in the least
by 10am.
So here we are, with a half an acre of land, a 1200 sq. ft. building, and an
ambitious vision. The purpose of the land is to create a spiritual haven for
the homeless, as well as a place for recreation. We have begun building the
park, which will have a basketball court, a volleyball net, vegetable gardens,
a biblical walking path, picnic tables, and plenty of shade. We hope to have
it open 6 days a week (this is where we will really need volunteers). We
have begun and will continue to encourage the "Saturday Feeders" to bring
their efforts to the park and coordinate with other groups so that we can
minister to the homeless in a unified and thus more effective manner.
The building (which was a bar for years) will be converted to an office and a
classroom setting. In it we will have Christian books to be checked out, cold
water on summer days, hot coffee on winter days, restrooms (a huge need
for "street people"), computer training, bible studies, personal mentoring,
life skills training, vocational training, and anything else the Lord opens the
door to. I am a landscaper, and will institute a program where I hire 4 men at
a time, train them in landscaping in a 12 week program, and then place them
into permanent employment if and when they successfully complete the
program, and then start a new 12 week program with 4 more individuals. My
hope is that other business owners will catch the vision and come down and
start something similar within their respective trade.
In the meantime, our vision and mission will not waiver, as we will not rest
until homelessness has been eliminated in Fort Worth and surrounding
communities.
In His name,
Neale Mansfield
Executive Director
Feed By Grace
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