5 Loaves: 2 Fish joins battle against local food insecurity
Courtesy photo
5 Loaves: 2 Fish ministry members prepare to serve meals, which include a hot main dish, side item, bread and dessert with bottled water.
Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series about local ministry 5 Loaves: 2 Fish and its mission to feed those in need.
As a physical therapy assistant, Julie Holmes was driving back and forth between Ruston and Monroe. She had retired from education and was in her second professional chapter. It was then she began feeling a stirring, if not a voice.
“I felt like God was talking to me,” Holmes said. “I kept hearing the words ‘ soup kitchen.’ Driving for work I began seeing people on the street in need. Prices were skyrocketing. I felt like I should be doing something.”
Curiosity got the best of Holmes and she began researching available opportunities throughout the community. She wondered if there was something like a soup kitchen in Lincoln Parish. Looking to volunteer, she headed to Stephanie Matthews, Executive Director of Christian Community Action.
“I had volunteered at CCA before and that was very meaningful to me,” Holmes said. “I got an appointment with Stephanie and discovered there was no such facility here. Several groups had tried to start one and nothing ever came of it. Then she brought up the idea of a food truck. The light came on, and I knew that was it.”
In thinking about the people who might need that type of service, Holmes found while several initiatives had been in place, none were truly serving people she felt needed the help. She believed there needed to be a way to meet them where they were.
“What really came out of the conversation with Stephanie was that we needed to be mobile,” Holmes continued. “We could have a brick and mortar facility somewhere but getting people there would be the hard part. Coming to them, we were going to be more successful. That’s what became the catalyst for 5 Loaves: 2 Fish.”
5 Loaves: 2 Fish is a local 501c3 developed by Holmes as an avenue for the mobile ministry of feeding those in need. The goal is to address food insecurity in Lincoln Parish in a consistent, sustainable way while engaging caring groups and individuals across the community. The idea behind it — share God’s harvest with God’s people.
As a result, in July of 2022 Holmes began meeting with area stakeholders in order to introduce her vision. Recognizing one isn’t naturally born with the tools needed to do something like this, she leaned heavily on those with expertise in other areas.
“Bringing Carol ( Trumbold) on board was such a huge help because she can handle all the paperwork involved,” Holmes said. “And there is lots of paperwork. She said she doesn’t do food, but she could handle all the other stuff.”
Holmes said among the initial challenges was finding locations to meet those being served. The idea was to have the location close to Section 8 housing which provides rental housing assistance to low-income households. Connecting with United Way of Northeast Louisiana, she learned that those served would likely come from ALICE — Asset Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed.
“It became obvious we were equipped to help the working poor,” Holmes said. “And those are the ones we really wanted to reach.”
Ready to serve their first meal in January of 2023, they began working from the back of cars with locations that would host the operation.
Bringing previously prepared food, the clam-shaped containers are transported in lined, sanitized coolers to keep the food hot.
Noting that because most of the individuals served were employed, the noon meal wasn’t well attended. The focus then was shifted to the evening meal.
“Our first meal was jambalaya prepared in the kitchen at Trinity (Methodist Church),” Holmes continued. “We want to serve hot meals and have a complete, nutritious meal. And meet the people where they are with resources to help them. After our first meal, I knew we had a good plan.”
