Dr. Jamal Bryant with New Birth Missionary Baptist Church serve up community

King’s Table at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church is no ordinary food pantry. And Flossie is no ordinary neighbor. The generosity of both demonstrates just how far food can go, from a mere commodity to a true community. 

Givelify has loved our partnership with New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and all the work they continue to do in and around Atlanta, Georgia. New Birth’s head pastor, Dr. Jamal Bryant, was reluctant at first to begin a good work that has now turned into a good movement.   

After gentle and persistent nudging from one of his members, Dr. Bryant relented and let the idea flourish. Soon after starting it, Flossie Varner — the “old lady” as Dr. Bryant warmly calls her — unexpectedly found herself in need of the program she brought to life.

Covid left many jobless in Atlanta and around the world after shutdowns demanded that many companies tighten their belts. With the food from King’s Table, Flossie was able to help feed her son, grandchildren, and even neighbors affected by the pandemic. 

Local Food Pantry Action Drives National Results

But Mrs. Varner isn’t the only one that benefits from the good King’s Table is doing. Initially, the food pantry served 300 families a week, quickly growing to over 4,000 weekly. Beyond Metro Atlanta, churches from Chattanooga, Tennessee, Savannah, Georgia, and Aiken, South Carolina come weekly to take food back to their congregations, which highlights that this is not only a local issue, but it is a national one.

Everyone who comes through New Birth’s food pantry comes for more than consumption, but the community that comes from sharing a meal.