06/01/2026
This past Saturday we gathered at the welcoming Eastwood Christian Church to put together our Lunch Meals for delivery. Under the direction of our Meals Coordinator Lori Eslick and our Assembly Line boss Bettina Bowers we always get this task done in record time and we have fun at the same time. We like to call this “organized chaos” but just know this, we are serious about serving those in our community struggling with hunger.
And thanks to donations both Miranda Liss and I brought lots of dog food (along with never enough cat food!) to hand out because no one should be hungry. Miranda is amazing at community outreach and gathering what SAFPAW needs to serve both animals and people.
Our team on Saturday of Lori, Jenny, Bettina, Dara, Karla, Katie, Miranda and myself finished up with putting the meals together and Katie, Miranda and I headed out to deliver lunch meals, pet food, farm fresh eggs, baby wipes, socks & t shirts and love to everyone on our stops.
We headed out with close to 300 lunch meals and every one was handed out. Thanks to our longtime friend and partner Jessica Pentecost we left her with meals enough to serve the children she watches out for in the Napier neighborhood where we serve. I have known and worked with Jessica for well over a decade and she is a force for good.
The folks who give up their Saturday to serve are my heroes. Every one. And the volunteers who make the sandwiches and deliver them to the church are absolutely critical to making this work happen.
Because you donate we can feed. Saturday’s hunger patrol came at a financial cost of $400. We had to move from every Saturday to every other due to the cost, and that move did hurt our hearts. And while I am working on possible grants, it is your donations that send us out.
Katie, Miranda and I (and everyone who is on our delivery team) have our routes but we also look for folks in alleys and side roads and camps that have managed to still exist. The alleys and streets off of Murfreesboro & Lafayette where we find our friends who are so close to our hearts. They mean so much to us and we absolutely enjoy the time we spend with them. This I know, meals unite folks together. You want to know what meant so much to me this past Saturday? We stopped on one side street and a woman came to us saying that she had spent the morning getting high and really needed something to eat. Her friend told her not to say that but she responded with this “these folks just want to feed us, they know we are high”.
Now addiction hurts my heart. But we will never solve that crisis by being clinical. Someone struggling with addiction does not need a reminder of what that struggle costs them. However I truly believe that a meal and a genuine smile and hug can deliver dignity and hopefully the understanding that they do matter. When people seek you out and come to you with meals and other needs that truly tells people that they are worthy. And that is what can bring people off the streets, knowing that they do matter.
Thank you for making our Meals Program happen. And we rarely have pictures to show you. What happens on the streets where we deliver becomes a sacred bond. Sometimes a picture is appropriate but mostly it is not.
What began in 2020 continues to grow in response to the need. Our Meals Program means so much and I am grateful for your support.
Laurie Green
Lori Eslick, Meals Coordinator
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
[email protected]
[email protected]
