Feeding the Community, Body, Mind & Soul

Food insecurity is hard on families, children, and individuals. Rumbling bellies, not knowing where the next meal is coming from, and the stigma of seeking affordable or donated food can all take a toll.

Heeding Jesus’ call to care for their neighbors, members of the Ryde 3am Seventh-day Adventist Church host a weekly food pantry to help address needs in their community. Every Thursday from 6-7 p.m., community members can fill boxes and bags with groceries, fruits, fresh vegetables, and toiletries for a $5 donation. Through cooperation from Foodbank NSW & ACT and the City of Ryde, free hampers of healthy food are also available.

Pastor Andre Vieira, Ministerial Association Secretary for the Greater Sydney Conference, who until recently served as pastor of the 3am Ryde church, calls the outreach “a true blessing.” He explains, “We have been serving an average of 25 families from the community every Thursday, and some of them are keen to connect with the church once we reopen.”

While the pantry had existed before the pandemic, it shut down in early 2020. During COVID lockdown restrictions in October of that same year, “The church saw a need to restart the food pantry to help support the community,” shares Pr Fabian Edian, associate pastor of the 3am Ryde church and leader of the food pantry ministry.

Coordinating with Foodbank, the church orders about $150 worth of pantry items, fruits, and vegetables weekly, along with free items from Foodbank. A group of volunteers, usually eight church members and two to three community members, gathers in the late afternoon on Thursdays to arrange the items. At 6 p.m., the doors open, often to guests already lined up and waiting. The evening starts with a prayer and blessing upon the food and guests before guests sign in, give a $5 donation to help costs so more can be served, and then shop the offerings, filling boxes and bags with fresh and healthy food, toiletries, and other essentials. This gives guests the opportunity to select items that best fit their needs and retains their dignity and power of choice.

Pastor Edian explains that the church covers most of the costs, with the City of Ryde Council generously helping fund Foodbank to assist agencies that have aided the community during the lockdowns.

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Foodbank then passed on that assistance by granting Ryde agencies with free emergency hampers filled with tin-can pantry items, 2-litres of milk, masks, and toiletries. The 3am Ryde Adventist church requested 60 hampers, which members shared with those struggling with COVID, the elderly, and disabled or unemployed neighbors. So far, more than 40 families have benefited, along with weekly food pantry guests.

The church’s pantry outreach has gained recognition from the local council and leaders, including Councillor Penny Pederson, who, in a Facebook post, thanked the 3am Ryde Food Pantry for “looking out for our community” and encouraged constituents to give to local foodbanks like the 3am Ryde program.

Food isn’t the only assistance the church is offering. Tutoring services are available during pantry hours, and students and parents of other faiths are welcome. All this leads to full bellies and full hearts.

“There is definitely potential opportunity to share the everlasting gospel to our community through food pantry. As Jesus served the needs of the people first, this is exactly what 3am Ryde Seventh-day Adventist Church is accomplishing by supporting, serving and assisting the community in what they need,” Pastor Edian shares. “We have had a few from the community that have attended our church functions and pray that they are willing to learn about our Adventist beliefs. With the continued support of the church and its members, this service to the community will continue to leave our mark as a centre of influence to the Ryde community.”