SBTC DR crews assist Houston Food Bank Neighborhood Super Sites, serve victims of Onalaska tornado

HOUSTON—Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief volunteers are supporting the Houston Food Bank at its two Neighborhood Super Sites at the Texans Training Bubble near NRG stadium south of downtown and at the Cypress Premium Outlets mall in northwest Houston.

SBTC DR volunteers are preparing hot lunches for food bank volunteers and manning the hospitality tents at each location where thousands of families receive needed food during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Super Site support is just one way SBTC DR volunteers and churches are assisting the Houston Food Bank serve a city in crisis. 

Churches serving as sites for food distribution

SBTC churches such as Spring Baptist and Houston’s First are offering their campuses to function as smaller food bank distribution sites throughout the week.

For Jason Mayfield, associate pastor of Spring Baptist Church, the chance to help the community was an easy decision. Not only did Mayfield and his wife, Fran, serve as SBTC DR hospitality hosts at the food bank’s Texans Training Bubble Super Site on April 18, but Spring Baptist also opened as a smaller food distribution center on April 7, a task Mayfield said the church will continue each Tuesday as long as needed.

Spring Baptist volunteers unload and sort pallets of food delivered to the church on refrigerated trucks, then place food boxes into people’s cars as they drive up and pop their trunks. All recipients either pre-register online with the Houston Food Bank or provide their basic information to church volunteers on site.

Spring Baptist member Jennifer Meehan, a counselor at Spring ISD, connected the church to the food bank. Mayfield said church members were eager to volunteer, adding that women from the church had also begun sewing masks for Houston Food Bank volunteers.

“People are so excited to get out of the house and serve,” Mayfield said, adding that 30-35 from the church help weekly in the distribution effort that saw 186 families receive food on April 14.

Large-scale ministry at the Super Sites

The Houston Food Bank’s Super Site food distribution works similarly but on a larger scale. National Guard troops direct traffic as thousands of vehicles drive into the parking lots where HFB volunteers load boxes into the cars.

Each day’s Super Site undertaking involves 200-plus volunteers, some of whom arrive early to pack boxes while others work loading vehicles. 

Feeding them will be the task of SBTC DR crews through April 25 and longer if requested, said Scottie Stice, SBTC DR director, adding that the connection with the food bank was made by Kyle Sadler, a member of United City Church in Humble, who volunteered with the Mayfields April 18 at the Texans Training Bubble.

That day, the Mayfields joined other SBTC DR volunteers to serve pizza donated by Papa John’s to volunteers, but on April 22, Ronnie and Connie Roark of Salem-Sayers Baptist near San Antonio transported the QRU quick response kitchen, a DR food trailer, to the Cypress Super Site.

The Roarks fixed fajitas for Cypress volunteers, who ate in 10-person shifts, spaced to accommodate social distancing, guidelines followed by all workers including SBTC DR volunteers.

The Roarks cooked with masks on, placing the food in hinged disposable containers, where it was carried to hungry volunteers inside the nearby hospitality tents by SBTC DR volunteers such as Kim Scott from Houston’s Clay Road Baptist. Tomi Sue and Gary Burgess of Spring Baptist were also among Wednesday’s volunteers, which included members of nearby Grace Life Baptist.

SBTC DR volunteers at the hospitality tent are also checking in food bank volunteers, taking their temperatures, and distributing masks and gloves, said Brandon Reed, SBTC DR task force member. Reed, associate pastor of United City Church, is coordinating the Super Site volunteers for SBTC DR.

The Roarks will return to Houston and cook for the group at the Texans Training Bubble on April 25.

“The food bank had so much food and so many people who needed it,” Connie Roark said of the initial experience at Cypress. “It was a great day for us. The food bank expected to serve 5,000 by the evening.”

“DR has changed during the coronavirus,” Scottie Stice said. “It’s a new day in DR. Now we try to do day trips as much as possible.” Should the need arise for overnight stays at churches, policies for social distancing will be followed, he added.

“We will be available to continue as needed assisting the Houston Food Bank unless we are called to another disaster,” Stice confirmed.

Onalaska tornado

Disaster struck Wednesday, April 22, in the small East Texas city of Onalaska, some 85 miles north of Houston in Polk County, claiming at least three lives, destroying 46 homes and damaging 245 others, the Houston Chronicle reported April 23.

An SBTC DR chainsaw crew from First Baptist Bellville led by Mike Phillips deployed to the area the day after the disaster, where they will be joined by the QR truck staffed by crew from Flint Baptist directed by John Robertson. The quick response feeding truck will provide meals for first responders and DR crews and will be housed at Pineywoods Baptist Camp, Stice said.