Since 2014, East Mesa Baptist Church (EMBC) opened its doors every Thursday at 9 a.m. to East Mesa area residents in need of food or other assistance. Then the pandemic hit. Instead of eight to 12 families seeking food each week, 40 to 60 families became the norm. One day, 80 families came through the line.
With such an increase in need, and a surplus of food donations coming in from a variety of sources, the church fellowship hall and most of the classrooms filled up with pallets of food. Plans are underway to build a separate building to house the food pantry ministry now that it’s outgrown the small closet that used to contain it.
“It’s grown from where we used to be down here Thursday mornings, and maybe Tuesday mornings, to now we are here probably four to five days a week,” said Scott Baumberger, who along with his wife, Peggy, helps run the ministry.
“The pandemic was very stressful,” said EMBC’s food pantry ministry leader Bernice Sanchez. “A lot of people needed food. A lot of people lost their jobs. They were coming from out of town to live with their parents because they lost their jobs where they lived. We had to change our things around. Instead of an indoor pantry it became an outdoor drive-in with masks and sanitizer.”
With Covid protocols restricting contact, cars line up and drive in front of the church, open their trunks, and EMBC volunteers decked out in masks and plastic gloves place the food boxes in the car trunks. Recipients show their ID to indicate they live in the East Mesa area and church volunteers keep a spreadsheet to record how often each family comes through.
Prior to the pandemic, area residents could only request assistance once a month, but with the increased need and abundance of food donations, families can come twice a month. Along with the food, tracts and Bibles are sometimes provided, along with fliers announcing services that might be of interest to the families, such as free GED or citizenship classes.
“Iglesia Bautista Buenas Nuevas next door is a Spanish church, our sister church, so they give us Bible tracts or information on women’s ministries in Spanish because 70 percent of the people who come through are Spanish speaking,” said Bernice Sanchez.
When more volunteers were needed to manage the food pickups, storage and distribution, many stepped up to help.
“We are so blessed in this church with people who are willing and capable,” said EMBC Pastor James Pratt. “There are not enough words of affirmation and acclamation for the many faithful volunteers we have. They are just awesome!”
“I volunteer as service to God,” said Peggy Baumberger. “There’s a lot of families out in this area that need extra help. Those that are very appreciative make it worthwhile for those that aren’t. And when you have little kids come and they haven’t eaten, they want to eat the apple, or the fruit, that’s right there, right now.”
“I’m volunteering because I feel it’s what the Lord would have me do,” said Lynette Cowan “I enjoy doing it also, to see people get food that they need. God has been so good at supplying abundantly.” Debbie Bizzell said she volunteers because she enjoys seeing the people who come through the line, and she likes working with the other volunteers.
“I volunteer because I’m retired, and the selfish reason is because I needed the social interaction,” said Barbara Rhodes. “One of the reasons my husband and I worked hard to be able to retire early is to be able to give back to the community we grew up in. That’s why I volunteer. I also volunteer at Dharmahorse Rescue & Sanctuary. Those are my passions.”
When Liz Guffey was asked why she volunteers, she said, “What else can an 87-year-old lady do except work for the Lord! I’m in good health, so I feel real honored to be able to help. It’s a wonderful program. I just can’t believe what we usually give out—how many people we do help.”
To fund the pantry ministry and offer utility bill assistance, EMBC collects a benevolence offering once a month among church members. The pantry’s food comes from individual donations, or through Casa de Peregrinos, a local food distribution center, or is purchased from the Roadrunner Food Bank of New Mexico. The Las Cruces Gospel Rescue Mission, which EMBC supports through its monthly budget, also donates its excess food to EMBC.
During the pandemic, the church obtained several grants, including one through the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico. EMBC is also one of nine Baptist Convention of New Mexico churches that received weekly deliveries of fresh produce, dairy and meat products through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s $19 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. Local grocery stores also call EMBC directly when food donations are available and need to be picked up.
“If we get an overabundance of food, and it’s produce, and it’s not going to hold, we open up and put a ‘free food’ sign out on the road,” said Peggy Baumberger. “We make up boxes of a variety of items. Sometimes we have extra meat, bread, produce, sweets. You’d be surprised how many cars come in. We don’t check licenses on that day because it’s extra food and it’s going to go to waste if we don’t give it out.”
East Mesa Baptist Church is located at 6160 Moongate Road east of Las Cruces.
Visit www.eastmesabaptist.org.
