Melissa PearsonFounder, Avowal 119 · Founder

What is a “food desert?” #foodbank #faith #serve #support

8 Mar 2026 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

1:45

In this personal narrative, Melissa Pearson describes her Saturday volunteer routine serving the Lackawanna neighborhood of Jacksonville, a community without a grocery store and therefore a food desert. Together with members of River City Church and One Love Christian Center, she distributes donated food, hygiene items, and clothing, following a structured rhythm that includes prayer, a word from Bishop Artie, and careful wheelchair accommodations. Over two years of service, Melissa reflects on how the experience has reshaped her, teaching her to listen rather than fix, and introducing her to the Hebrew concept of raha—to tend and care for. She highlights the surprising generosity of the people they serve, who often share meals and hospitality despite having little, likening it to the biblical widow’s offering. The service concludes with a fellowship at Gina’s Deli, where familiar faces and occasional firefighters add a lighthearted touch, leaving volunteers with a “full heart.”

Chapters

In 2026, this Jacksonville neighborhood has no grocery store. This is Lackawanna and part of my Saturday morning routine. People from River City Church serve alongside One Love Christian Center. We hand out whatever came in. Sometimes it's a lot, sometimes basic. Vegetables, protein, bread, something sweet. We rotate hygiene one week and clothing the next. The people who serve give from what they have. That's capital C Church in action. We bag everything up. Bishop Artie shares a word. We pray and then we open the wheelchairs on one side, everyone else on the other. It's not dramatic, but we have a rhythm, and it's an honor to be part of. I've been doing this for the past 2 years, and I didn't realize how much it would change me. I learned to stop fixing and start listening, to slow down and appreciate the season I'm actually living in. When life felt out of order, I kept hearing, "Feed my sheep." The Hebrew word is raha— to tend, to care for. For me, it looks like this: You start recognizing faces. You follow up on prayers. And what gets me is when some of these same people we're serving will open up their homes and cook for others still on the street. They don't have much, but they give anyways. It reminds me of the widow's offering. What looked small, Jesus said was more. I see that here all the time. People with very little choosing generosity anyways. That's the real blessing. That's the double portion. Lakawana feels like a family to me. I even pick up small things on trips just to bring back to someone who has impacted me. After we finish, we go to Gina's Deli and Sub Shop in Murray Hill. Sam, he already knows our order, and sometimes the firefighters walk in, which, let's be honest, adds a little excitement to the fellowship. Simple Saturdays left with a full heart.