Nourish hearts and bodies in your ministry with these three simple outreach ideas from a church in Alabama. Read on to discover how to minister to kids through food!

“Sometimes loving your community starts with something as simple as making a sandwich and being willing to show up.”

Mindy Day shared these words when asked about how her church centers outreach ministries around meeting physical needs—through food! Mindy serves in Christian education and children’s ministry in Covington, Alabama. One of Mindy’s greatest passions is creating practical ways for the church to reach children and families beyond a traditional Sunday service. Whether it’s VBS, a school day, a community outreach, or simply sharing a meal, Mindy believes that some of our greatest ministry opportunities happen when we meet families right where they are.

Our team at Group Publishing enjoyed serving with Mindy and her husband, Travis, at our Crave VBS field test last summer. We were honored to have the Day family, including their two boys, help stir up a hunger for Jesus in our Loveland, Colorado, community, too!

Mindy shares three outreach initiatives her church cooks up for kids and families in her community. Mindy hopes these ideas encourage and help you see that outreach doesn’t have to be complicated.

Food Outreach Idea #1: VBS Dinners

Mindy’s church provides dinner for kids, families, and volunteers at VBS.

Logistically, what does this look like at your church?

“We serve dinner each night during our VBS rotations. We feed everyone who is participating—little or big, young or old! That includes all our children and our volunteers.

“We try to keep the meals simple and choose foods that we know our kids actually enjoy. Some of our most requested meals are spaghetti and meatballs, pizza, sub sandwiches, chicken nuggets, and macaroni and cheese.

“For us, feeding everyone is about more than making VBS convenient. A shared meal creates fellowship. It gives children and volunteers a chance to sit together, talk, laugh, and build relationships. It also removes one more obstacle for families during what can already be a busy week.”

What fruit has come from this outreach initiative?

“One of the greatest fruits has been relationships. Kids may initially come because VBS sounds fun, but during the week they begin building relationships with our volunteers and with other children. A meal gives us another opportunity to slow down and connect with them.

“We also never know a family’s situation when they walk through our doors. For some children, dinner may simply be a fun part of VBS. For another child, that meal may meet a very real need. We don’t want children to have to explain their circumstances before we serve them. We just feed everybody.”

Please share a God Sighting from a VBS meal.

“For me, the God Sightings often aren’t huge, dramatic moments. They’re seeing a child who was nervous on the first night sitting at a table laughing with new friends by the end of the week. It’s watching our volunteers serve children, clean up messes, refill plates, and love kids who aren’t their own.

“Sometimes ministry looks like preaching or teaching, and sometimes it looks like handing a child a plate of chicken nuggets and sitting down beside them. I believe God is present in both.”

Food Outreach Idea #2: PB & Jesus

Once a month, Mindy’s church packs bagged lunches and hands them out at a community park.

What is PB & Jesus?

“We’ve been doing PB&J for about 10 years now. We use our church bus that the community recognizes, kind of like an ice cream truck, and hand out sack lunches with PB&J, chips, fruit, and juice or water. (We crank up the music, too!) PB & Jesus is one of those ministries that is beautifully simple. We take food out into the community, meeting families where they already are—parks, gyms, ball fields, splash pads.”

How long did it take to catch on with kids and their grown-ups in your community? In other words, how did they find you in the park?

“Like most outreach, it takes consistency. People need to see that you’re not just showing up once. You genuinely care about them and their community. Word of mouth is powerful, especially with children. When kids have a good experience, they tell other kids!

“The goal isn’t to get people to come to us. The heart behind PB & Jesus is for us to go to them. Jesus met people where they were, and that’s what we want to do, too.”

Do you have any advice for how churches can discern where to go for distribution? Who in the community might they partner with?

“Start by looking at your own community and asking, ‘Where are the kids?’ Then talk with schools, teachers, local parks and recreation departments, housing communities, food banks, and other organizations already serving families. They usually know where needs exist.

“I also think it’s important not to approach a community believing you are coming in to ‘fix’ something. Go ready to listen, build relationships, and serve. Sometimes churches spend so much time developing a big outreach plan that we miss the needs sitting five minutes from our church. Pray about it, ask questions, and then be willing to go.”

What fruit has come from this outreach initiative?

“One of my favorite things is simply watching children begin to expect us and feel comfortable around us. There’s something special about a child realizing, ‘They came back.’

“That’s such a picture of God’s faithfulness to me. We aren’t just there to hand out food. We want children to know that they are seen, valued, and loved and ultimately that Jesus loves them even more than we ever could.”

Can you recall a specific God Sighting through this outreach?

“Our very first trip out, we handed out 100 bags. Later that evening, a post started to circulate on social media of a family holding our bags that we handed out that day with our postcard telling them how much God loves them. The family began to brag on the random act of kindness and from there, our hearts were committed.

“A peanut butter sandwich isn’t complicated or expensive, but when it’s given with love and consistency, it can open a door.”

Food Outreach Idea #3: Family Night Food Donations

Mindy’s church hosts family nights once a month. They ask families to bring different donations each month, and sometimes it’s food to support a foster closet, food pantry, or homeless shelter. (If you’re looking for things to do at a family night, check the seasonal ideas in Team Family books!)

How do you generate excitement for families to donate?

“We try to make giving feel like something the whole family gets to participate in rather than another obligation. We talk about why we’re collecting something and who it is going to help.

“Kids especially need to understand the story behind the giving. ‘Bring canned food’ isn’t nearly as meaningful as, ‘There are families in our community who may not have enough food this week, and we get to help fill their pantry.’ When children understand the purpose, generosity becomes personal.”

How might churches help kids enjoy the intrinsic benefits of generosity without extrinsic rewards or making it a competition?

“I love making giving visual without making it competitive. For example, instead of tracking which child or class brings the most, set one big church-wide goal. Create a giant heart, cross, food basket, or other display and let children add something to it each time donations come in. Everyone’s working together to fill it.

“You could also let children participate in sorting the food, packing boxes or bags, praying over the donations, and when appropriate, helping distribute them. That takes the focus away from what I brought and puts it on who we’re helping.

“Another idea is to share stories throughout the drive. Talk about generosity in your Bible lessons and celebrate things like, ‘Look what God allowed all of us to do together!’ We want our kids to learn that generosity isn’t about getting a prize for giving. Giving is a privilege.”

Nourish Hearts and Bodies

These intentional, simple, and Spirit-filled outreach ideas share Jesus’ love in practical and relational ways. Consider how one (or more) may work in your ministry context, too!

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Looking for more outreach ideas? Check out these “Intentional Ways to Befriend New Families.” Plus, consider this “5-Step Guide to Serving Kids With Food Allergies at VBS.”