“We don’t work on the Sabbath, but we do serve,” Shantane Marshall, pastor of Fifty-Fourth Street church, said of the church’s twice-monthly food distribution.
For 15-20 years, Fifty-Fourth Street has operated a food pantry that provides quality food items to people experiencing food insecurity. The food distribution takes place every 2nd and 4th Sabbath beginning at 2:30 p.m.
Each week, volunteers prepare for Sabbath distribution by packing bags of food donated by the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. On Sabbath afternoon, the church opens the gate to the parking lot where people line up to receive food.
This ministry has become the church’s biggest outreach effort, with around 10 volunteers serving regularly. In addition to food distribution, the church serves the community every Tuesday through its shower ministry, also offering free lunch and free haircuts from a licensed barber.
So far this year, the food pantry at Fifty Fourth Street has served an average of 88 families every other week—and recently reached 120 families.
These acts of service are just some of the ways Fifty-Fourth Street lives out its mission to share Jesus with the community.
