Meet Me In The Street Ministry was established as a nonprofit organization to provide needs or services regardless of financial situation or circumstances by means of weekly outreach, prepared meals, food, groceries, clothing or any other means of advocacy.
“The ministry started just over five years ago with five pizzas and we would feed anyone that said they wanted a meal,” said Chris Hicks of the ministry. “Over the years, we built a volunteer base and a weekly menu is sent out to everyone and everyone picks an item from the menu to provide for the dinner.”
Chris and David Hicks, along with their ministry’s volunteers, have served more than 125 meals at two locations in the SouthShore area every Tuesday night.
“We also hold food drives, school supply drives and our big Christmas event served over 300 families this year with a day of games, treats and the children shop for two gifts they picked for themselves,” Chris said. “We provide for anyone with a need, our families just need a helping hand to make ends meet. Relationship is our goal, to share Christ’s love and to serve our guests with open hearts and to share the message of salvation.”
Like most nonprofits and food pantries in the area, the pandemic had an adverse effect on them, but luckily for Meet Me In The Streets Ministry, this was not the case.
“The current pandemic has not affected how the ministry runs, although we are no longer accepting donations of used clothing to distribute, but have been supported by donations of new items like socks, shoes, rain jackets and personal items for our families,” Chris said.
The couple’s favorite thing about running their ministry is building relationships with their volunteers and guests. They also love seeing others feel supported and loved by their community.
“Life changes and seeing others grow is amazing to experience,” Chris said. “We hope to see the ministry continue to partner with other nonprofits and churches to continue to grow and support local families.”
If you would like to support the ministry monetarily or volunteer on Tuesdays, you can message it on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/meetmeinthestreetministry or email the couple at Davejhicks@msn.com.
