Unexpected Blessings

During the pandemic, the need for food has grown exponentially. When budgets get tight, rent and bills get paid first, and food is bought with what is leftover. That can leave people scraping together food from their pantry or wondering where their next meal will come from altogether. 

Thankfully, God has blessed us to be able to expand our service times and provide much needed food to the community through our food pantry and hot meals. Since we are serving more, we use more. Luckily our donors and partners, like local churches, community members, Arkansas Food Bank, and Potluck Food Rescue, have stepped up to the plate. 

Sometimes though, our biggest blessings come from the most unexpected places. 

One day, during lunch, a woman named Mary walked in our door and let us know that she and her husband had brought a donation of food. We walked out to her car and unloaded milk, canned goods, condiments, produce, and paper goods - all huge needs that we had at the moment. 

We thanked her and asked how she had heard of us. She explained that many years ago she was a pretty consistent client here at the ministry. “River City was there when I needed it and now I’m on my feet.” She is returning the blessing from God she once received here and hopes that it will help another person through tough times. 

While a warm meal or a bag of food may seem insignificant in this world of pain and struggle, we know that we serve a God who provides spiritual, eternal food. He can take our small contribution of “fish and loaves” and use it to transform lives, just like He did for our friend Mary.