Enon Tabernacle Teams Up With The Trade Unions to Feed 2000 Families

Last year, when volunteers had to turn people away, Rev. Dr. Alyn Waller and the ministerial team knew they had to do something. Their annual Thanksgiving meal giveaway became so popular, that cars arrived early in the morning, several hours before the giveaway would begin, filling up the parking lot and lining up in the streets surrounding Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church.

The church prepared for this event annually. The Thanksgiving giveaway, a combination of weeks of donations gathered from the congregation and partnerships with local markets, featured a frozen turkey as well as all of the common essentials needed to make a typical Thanksgiving meal. The church fully budgeted for this. The congregation excitedly brought their “white bags” filled with each individual or family’s contributions. Volunteers helped lovingly prepare and pack each bag. Last year, the church gave away 1500 full Thanksgiving meals.

The problem was there simply was not enough food. Food insecurity is a massive problem. In Philadelphia, 28% of Black Philadelphians face food insecurity. 67% of Philadelphians live below the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits threshold. In just the last three years alone, the food insecurity rate in the region jumped 8%, going from 13% to 21%.

Many attribute that rise in food insecurity to the shift back in SNAP benefits from the increased benefit levels at the height of the pandemic. Rev. Will Martin, Pastor of the Commission Community at Enon, witnessed this shift firsthand. “In 2022 we actually did a comparative analysis between 2022 and 2023. In March 2023 the federal government reduced snap benefits back to pre-pandemic,” said Rev. Martin. “In March 2023, all of those benefits went retroactive back to pre-pandemic. So when that happened, a lot of people got caught unaware.”

It is projected that SNAP itself will face cuts due to policy choices of the coming administration to the tune of $30 billion over the next ten years. This proposed cut is a direct response to the current administration’s update to the Department of Agriculture, the department in charge of SNAP, which raised benefit levels upward of 30%. Basically, the problem of hunger and food insecurity is only projected to get worse.

The leadership of Enon has been watching it get worse. In the years following the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic, food insecurity has only increased. It is real out here for so many people. Rev. Will Martin knows how real it is. He helps lead community outreaches such as the Thanksgiving giveaway. “These are very, very real people with real situations,” said Rev. Martin. “Families are hurting. It's just a lot going on. It's very humanizing to get to know people and actually have a relationship with people because then the needs of the community take on another dynamic.”

So does Rev. Waller, Senior Pastor of Enon. After gathering with the leadership of the church, he and their team tried to stretch their budget to fit in more family meals. The church contacted Ryan Boyer, business manager of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council and Laborers’ District Council. With Boyer and the Unions’ help, Enon was able to add an additional 500 full Thanksgiving meals to Enon’s original 1500 meals, bringing the total to 2000 family meals distributed. “That is what the Black Church has always done,” said Rev. Waller. “It’s all about ‘how do we treat our neighbor?’”

In the coming years, efforts like these are going to become increasingly important. Should those proposed cuts to SNAP, a lifeline for many who might not be able to afford to eat otherwise, materialize, efforts like food donations, pantries, community fridges, and giveaways will be even more vital. For now, for those 2000 families, the holiday season was a bit brighter. For them, efforts like this as well as future ones will make all of the difference.