For the last 6 months or so, we've been volunteering with a group called Burrito Bikers. While that may sound like a mexican motorcycle gang, it's actually a group of folks who get together every Saturday morning and hand out breakfast to the homeless folks who gather in Greensboro's Center City Park. Hayes Holderness and his wife started the group by riding their bikes around to the various homeless "camps" around the city and the found that burritos were a great hot breakfast for the people they were serving.
Last year, we were looking for something we could do as a family to help other people out. Rebecca had been driving home from work past Center City Park on the weekends and noticed that there were quite a few homeless folks who gathered in the park. She thought we could do something for them, like hand out coffee. We thought it would be a great way to get the kids exposed to ministering to people who were in need.
The very first time we went down there, we set up on the corner and handed out a couple dozen cups of coffee. We noticed there was another group on the other end of the park and before long, Hayes came over and introduced himself. We found out then that he and his wife had been handing out food down there for nearly a year. As we heard more about his heart and vision for the group, we decided to join up with them and do whatever we could to help. We now go down every other Saturday morning and hand out various foods, from breakfast burritos to crackers and bananas. There are usually about 60 regular folks who show up for food each week.
Once a month, we volunteer to make a full batch of 60 burritos, which takes about 90 eggs, 8 pounds of potatoes, 3 pounds of cheese, 3 pounds of sausage and 3 pounds of onions. It's a whole lot of cooking, but it's a whole lot of fun. The kids love getting involved filling, wrapping and stacking the burritos.
We are so blessed to be a part of this ministry! There are probably close to 30 people who are volunteering with us, whether it's by making food or just being there to hand out what's brought each week. It's been great to get to know some of these guys who come to be fed and to have someone to talk to. If anyone's interested in getting involved, check out the facebook group and the Wiki page. You don't have to be able to cook, just be available to hand out food and coffee to people who really need some TLC.
