As people fight over the role of government in the wake of a turbulent election season, a Southeast Dallas church is feeding neighbors with no government support.
In just a few years, the Inspired Vision Church food pantry has grown into a key source of nourishment for a needy neighborhood.
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day there's a traffic jam in the 9400 block of Military Parkway as people crowd into the little place for fresh food items. Many are donated to the church because they are too close to expiration for grocery stores, but still healthy for hungry people.
"We don't turn anything down because somebody needs it," said the Rev. Karen Belknap, pastor at Inspired Vision Church.
She started the food bank after a fifth grader at the charter school she ran passed out in class the day after Thanksgiving break.
"We found out she hadn't eaten in six days, since the last school lunch before Thanksgiving. When I found that out, I made up my mind, not on my watch will that happen again," Belknap said.
The pastor learned that hunger is a huge problem in her part of wealthy North Texas. So far this year, the church has served more than 76,000 families.
Patricia Berry said she visits several times a week to help feed her family.
"We're out of money now and we just got our money on the 3rd and it doesn't go very far, so this helps," Berry said. "A lot of people bring other people who don't have a way."
Hospice caregiver Rita Speed said she comes to help feed herself and some of her patients.
"It's very helpful because by the time you buy groceries, my patients buy groceries, you don't have enough money to buy vegetables," she said. "So this place here, it really helps. It really helps, and I thank God for it."
Belknap said dozens of people now volunteer at the church each week.
"Most of them are people that needed food themselves and they've come to help us make it happen now," she said.
The church also offers donated merchandise like diapers and toiletries. It has rooms full of donated toys ready to be holiday gifts.
The neighborhood food pantry and relief operation has been so successful, Belknap said the greatest need now is a bigger building to house the growing mission at Inspired Vision Church.
