In the back of our minds, we all know that whenever we sit down to a delectable meal with all the trimmings, someone around the corner could be going without. Even then, most of us compartmentalize. It takes a further leap of imagination to commit to materially supporting the many Memphians — and they are legion — who work every day to ensure no one among us goes hungry.
But what if every “specials of the day” list had a hidden side, a bonus section naming all the organizations providing free food, with no compartmentalization needed? The back of every menu could sport a roundup of all who feed the hungry. Something built into the dining experience about which one might simply say, “It’s my pleasure.” Feel free to select more than one course, if you’re feeling particularly hungry for change.
Food comes in many forms, as do the multiple approaches to feeding those in need. Topping the list are those who answer the most immediate cry of hunger with a proper meal. It’s the first step someone takes to calm down, consider their needs, and think through all those things that can come later: getting groceries, finding fresh produce, or even securing a little plot where they can grow their own. The organizations along each step of path will welcome your donations.
For Starters: A Square One
Nothing quite says “welcome” like a free meal, offered for take-out or served in-house, and Memphis has plenty to offer.
A heavenly host of churches covers every day of the week between their various breakfasts, carry-outs, or sack lunches, namely Catholic Charities of West Tennessee, Calvary Episcopal Church, First Congregational Church, First Presbyterian Church, First United Methodist Church, Idlewild Presbyterian Church, Jacob’s Well Memphis, Masjid Al Mu’Minun (offering halal), Heartsong Church, St. John’s United Methodist Church, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, St. Patrick Catholic Church, and St. Vincent DePaul.
There are also nonecumenical options like OutMemphis, Memphis Food Not Bombs, the YMCA’s free meals for kids 18 and under, or the Feed the Block program, launched by the Equity Alliance and hosted by Young Life Memphis.
Fill the Pantry
Beyond a meat and three, one is not truly food secure without a stocked pantry. Yet in some areas, the proverbial “food deserts,” might not even have a nearby purveyor of pantry items. One solution, Mobile Grocer, was launched by nonprofit The Works to take staples directly to those deserts. It’s a bus bringing shelves of groceries to one of seven locations, Monday through Friday.
And those left choosing between rent and groceries can get help with free food pantries. They might include raw produce, meats, dairy, or other perishable necessities, not to mention things with more of a shelf life, and there’s also a mobile version with the Sunshine and Daisy Mobile Food Pantry delivering groceries to 100 families every week. The venerable Mid-South Food Bank also features a mobile pantry in addition to its brick-and-mortar location.
Another approach is to pepper every neighborhood with mini-pantries, and that’s the idea behind both Little Free Pantries, stocking canned goods and nonperishables much like Little Free Libraries, and 901 Community Fridges, which goes a step further and actually offers refrigerated goods in several locations. Check the latter’s social media to hear their “new fridge alert” announcements of ever-multiplying locations.
Other pantries include those at the Catholic Charities of West Tennessee, Collective Good Immigrant Pantry, Faithful Baptist Church (also offering a clothes and diaper pantry), FeedMemphis by the Memphis Dream Center, Friends for All Memphis, Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal Church (with an emphasis on fresh produce in the growing season), and Heartsong Church.
Growing Goodness
Taking all of this good will to its logical conclusion, one inevitably faces the old aphorism, “Give someone a fish to feed them for a day; teach someone to fish to feed them for a lifetime.” The landlocked corollary, of course, would apply to the power of the garden, and the very real opportunities throughout the city to grow one’s own food.
Shelby County Community Gardens, launched by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris in 2020 to provide free spaces for residents to nurture healthy lifestyles and grow their own food, may be the king of the compost heap in this category, and they allotted over 450 plots to applicants last year. You’ll need to drive out to the Shelby Farms area to get there, though. Still, certain neighborhoods offer cultivation opportunities closer to home, like the Orange Mound Community Garden and the S.O.W. Community Garden, both in Orange Mound. There’s also the garden at the New Hope Christian Academy in Frayser, reclaiming land once considered untillable, and the nearby nine-acre plot of The Girls Inc. Youth Farm, where qualifying members grow all manner of produce, and even sell it at local farmers markets. And in South Memphis, there’s a longstanding community garden, the Green Leaf Learning Farm, a signature program by Knowledge Quest that’s across the street from their main campus. But that’s not all. Look around your own environs to see what’s growing near you.
