Hi, we’re the Jemison family! Both of our children are Cornerstone Cougars! Our son Josiah is in fifth grade, and our daughter, Jordyn is in second grade.
Loving Our Neighbors
It has been our honor and privilege to help our neighbors by offering food assistance.
Through a friend of a friend, we just so happened to be blessed to become a part of a major company’s food co-op. In doing so, that brought extra into our household. The extra was so much it was an abundance, some may even say an overflow. So after much prayer, I asked what shall we do with this overflow? And I believe I heard the Lord move upon my heart to share with our neighbors. To feed our community, to look out for one another, especially those who seem like they may not necessarily need it. He immediately brought to my attention Proverbs 19:17 (NLT) "If you help the poor you are lending to the Lord and he will reward you." Whether it be poor in spirit or poor in the natural, we are still commissioned to HELP!
Food Insecurity in America
Food insecurity refers to USDA’s measure of lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods. Food insecure households are not necessarily food insecure all the time. Food insecurity may reflect a household’s need to make trade-offs between important basic needs, such as housing or medical bills, and purchasing nutritionally adequate foods.
When Hunger Strikes
Hunger does not have a face and hunger is real in Cobb County. Anyone can find themselves in need of food assistance. Approximately 8.6% or 64,630 Cobb County residents lack consistent access to food (Feeding America). There are those in our community who may have a nicer home or drive nicer cars than ours and are secretly in need. It is not for us to judge or even analyze their situation. We are called to help so that is what we do, discreetly as we are led, with the overflow that we have from what we receive on a weekly basis.
Easing the Burden
My family and I decided to start a mobile food pantry, Feed Our Community Service Place, F.O.C.S., with a goal to feed those in our community and surrounding areas as we can. Mobile food pantries provide a quick way for families to access supplemental groceries. Many of the families F.O.C.S serves are people who have experienced a reversal in circumstances and for a number of reasons, the money just doesn’t stretch far enough. Right now we are using our personal vehicle to make deliveries, however, we do plan to find a building for our ministry in the near future.
The Cornerstone Difference
Being a part of Cornerstone has allowed us as a family to still be effective change agents by serving in the local church and in our community, as well as teaching our children from a biblical perspective, through the school's University-Model® and schedule.
What Can I Do?
My advice to anyone who would like to start something similar to this would be to definitely pray and seek the Lord on how it may be done. That to me is first and foremost. He will reveal ways that you can be a blessing.
One who is gracious to a poor person lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed.
Proverbs 19:17
Thanks to the Jemison Family and other community partners for their continued dedication to lessening food insecurity. Have a story to share? We’d love to hear from you! Send us an email and we will respond promptly.