St. Charles Community Service Center Becomes New Home for Produce Distribution 

When Steve Schefka became pastor of the St. Charles church about two years ago, he joined a Facebook group tailored to events happening in the city.

While in that group, he found out about a small food market held at a local Lutheran church, and decided to go. The market, Schefka says, was a food bank for those in need. It had been operating for around four years. Schefka began volunteering his services, helping unload trucks of food. The food bank founders were not members of the Lutheran church, but the pastor graciously allowed it to be held on church property. The impact was huge—around 4,500 people came through each month. After the Lutheran pastor’s retirement, however, the new administration “didn’t want anything to do with the market,” Schefka says.   

The original founders of the food bank, knowing the impact of their ministry, asked Schefka if he would be interested in partnering with them, so the community could still benefit from the market. Schefka brought the proposition to his church board, and “They voted to do it,” Schefka says.  

Beginning in June, the market was divided among four local churches, with the St. Charles church’s Community Service Center (CSC) becoming a permanent location. Due to the multiple locations replacing the market, the food that would usually be delivered to one place was split and delivered to four. Schefka asked if their location could only receive the “healthy stuff, fruits and vegetables, produce. We prayed about it, and they came back and said they could do it.” This is a win for the St. Charles church, as it means they can promote the health message while helping those in need. Schefka shared that eventually they will be able to distribute bread as well, but for now, they are just distributing fresh produce.  

The St. Charles CSC is open for three hours on Wednesday afternoons. “The truck shows up around 1:30,” Schefka says. From there, five to six volunteers unload and get ready for the community to come in. The CSC used to distribute clothing exclusively, but “We have refocused our labor into food service,” Schefka says. Food ministry, Schefka says, is “face to face, personal contact. People are thankful, they’re praying with us, asking questions, and taking literature.”  

The first day that the CSC was open, they served 51 families, which is impressive, especially since they “were just trying to get the word out that the location had been moved,” Schefka says. Since then, the numbers have continued to climb upwards.  

When a family comes into the St. Charles CSC, they are warmly greeted, then given whatever they need. “We just ask them what they want, and they can take it,” Schefka says. The service center always has a variety of produce—potatoes, boxed precut vegetables, mangoes, watermelon, spinach, strawberries, carrots, etc. It’s “just an assortment of wonderful food,” says Schefka. Anything that is left goes to compost, so the goal is for everything to be gone. “They take what they think they can eat, or a couple extra bags for a family member,” Schefka explains. “We don’t see anyone being greedy.”  

The produce is sourced from the Flint Eastern Food Bank, which receives its produce from Kroger, Meijer, and Walmart. Local farms will also donate their excess produce. “The community is ensuring that we have food to distribute,” Schefka says, “it really is bringing St. Charles together to help fight hunger and assist families in need.”  

The CSC, Schefka explains, allows church members to follow Jesus’ method—meeting food bank client needs, then directing them to Jesus. “We can talk to people once we get them some of the basic stuff—once their needs are met,” he says. Not only is this ministry beneficial for the community, for leading souls to Christ, but it is also “good for inreach. A lot of church members are involved,” Schefka explains.  

Literature, such as GLOW tracts, are available on the sidelines for community members when they arrive to pick up their produce. When religious service centers take food from government food banks, they are often not allowed to proselytize, which means literature cannot be directly offered, or it cannot be put into the produce boxes. In spite of this stipulation, God is not limited. Schefka shares that community members are always prayed with, and that people will take literature from the sidelines.  

Volunteers have also seen divine appointments with grieving people who need someone to talk to. When people feel loved and cared for, when they are given food for their families with no strings attached, they are truly able to feel the love of Jesus, and then, on their own time, are able to begin their own journey towards Christ.