By BIN
(Source: BIN)
Pastor Jamal Bryant has swapped monetary church offerings for canned food donations ahead of SNAP benefits being cut off in November amid the ongoing government shutdown.
On Sunday (October 27), Bryant announced that he was suspending monetary offerings through November at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia, instead urging congregants to make food donations to support families who will soon lose their SNAP benefits.
“We have a responsibility,” Bryant said during Sunday’s sermon. “Our history is going to record that this president is the very first president in American history to starve his own citizens. On November 1st, SNAP benefits are cut in this country, impacting 42 million Americans. That is one out of every seven people.”
Bryant called on church members to bring canned goods each Sunday in November to restock the church’s “King’s Table” drive-thru food distribution program, which offers free groceries to local families in need.
“We’re gonna perform miracles while the government is shut down,” he said. “Clean out your cupboard, go to the supermarket—Publix, Costco, Walmart—just don’t go to Target. We want to be a blessing to families in this city and in this community, not just in this congregation.”
The pastor said his church will also redirect funds from its other ministries, including group therapy and morning prayer sessions, to sustain the “King’s Table” during the shutdown.
Over the weekend, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the SNAP program, which helps one in eight Americans buy groceries, was being suspended because the department had exhausted all of its available funds due to the budget impasse. The agency said it wouldn’t distribute November benefits without new congressional action.
During his sermon, Bryant also cited rising Black unemployment as the reason behind his decision to halt monetary donations.
“I didn’t feel in good conscience that it would be appropriate today for me to do an over-and-above offering,” he said, noting that “this is the highest unemployment rate for Black people in over 15 years.” “I didn’t feel like it would be right to ask people to march down with $5,000, $2,000, $3,000 or $1,000 when people don’t know how they’re going to pay their rent or feed their kids.”
Bryant also pointed congregants to national resources
,including findhelp.org, whyhunger.org/find-food, and the 1-800-5-HUNGRY hotline, to
help those struggling to get groceries amid the freeze.
“I am not going to do ‘giving Sunday’ until the Sunday after the government reopens,” Bryant concluded. “I want all of us to be able to give with clean hands and a clear conscience, and I don’t believe that anybody should be made to feel bad about not giving.”
Pastor Jamal Bryant urges his congregation to bring food instead of money, turning Sunday service into a food drive to support families affected by SNAP cuts and job losses.He stated, “Since March, 300,000 Black women have lost their
jobs.” pic.twitter.com/woWbUrGwSG
