Feeding the Hungry

Early Thursday morning, on North Texas Giving Day, hundreds of cars began filling the parking lot at the Grand Prairie Campus where one of Gateway’s drive-through mobile food pantries takes place each month.

A large group of volunteers, including Pastor Daniel and Pastor Joakim, placed food items in the trunks of vehicles as they passed through the mobile pantry driveway. It was the 32nd food pantry event at the Grand Prairie Campus, but something was different about this one. The celebratory mood surrounding this huge milestone in Gateway’s outreach efforts was palpable. Today Gateway gave its millionth pound of food to struggling families in our North Texas region, home to the fourth largest number of food-insecure individuals in the country.

That statistic comes from the North Texas Food Bank, which supplies much of the food to Gateway’s mobile pantry. Thanks to their strategic partnership, the food was fresh and nutritious, including organic produce and large bags of dried beans and rice. In all, more than 1,500 individuals received food that day, which reflects Gateway’s ongoing commitment to serve neighbors with dignity and practical help. 

“I’m a little emotional right now because this is our 32nd food pantry event, and today we’ll reach one million pounds of food given away,” Outreach Pastor Dusty Petree said to the volunteers at the beginning of the event. “We started off small, and now we’re serving hundreds of families and thousands of people each time we do this. It’s all about you guys.”

Pastor Daniel echoed the sentiment. “I’m a firm believer that great churches are built on the talents of great people who serve,” he said. “I’m so thankful for all of you coming to serve today.”

Volunteers don’t just give out food. After recipients go through the food line, they also have an opportunity to receive prayer. It’s not uncommon to see salvations and physical healings happen at Gateway’s mobile food pantry. “More than only receiving food, we’re seeing people prayed for, and we’re seeing people come to faith in Christ,” says Pastor Daniel. “We’re meeting a physical need, which opens the door to meet a spiritual need.”

Key Event Statistics

• 291 Households Served
• 1,518 Individuals Served
• 74,288 Pounds of Food Given
• 72 Volunteers
• 81 Cars Asked for Prayer
• 3 Known Salvations
• 2 Physical Healings

Food Pantry Totals Since 2023

• 14,453 Households Served
• 58,678 Individuals Served
• 1,017,182 Pounds of Food Given
• 1,618 Volunteers
• 2,127 Cars Asked for Prayer
• 133 Known Salvations
• 16 Physical Healings