Old-fashioned Mom’s Kitchen cornbread and lemonade will be among the menu items this year at the annual Gathering of Hope feeding.
Normally held just before Thanksgiving, this year’s feeding will be held on Christmas Eve because sponsors of the event didn’t have the finances to do so at that time.
“We had a setback financially around Thanksgiving and decided to move it to Christmas Eve,” said the Prophet George Young III of Deep Sea Ministry, whose family owned and operated the popular Mom’s Kitchen in the historic Fifth Avenue community in northwest Gainesville for more than 40 years before closing its doors in July 2006.
Feeding Homeless: Ministry feeding homeless for Thanksgiving
“I genuinely love people and just want to help people who are less fortunate,” Young said. “I just want to help people.”
The feeding will be held at 2 p.m. Dec. 24 at 209 NE 16th Ave. in the small strip plaza next to Tom Petty (Northeast) Park in the suite that formerly housed Robinson’s Cleaners, Young said.
Prophet George Young III, founder of Deep Sea Ministry, will again sponsor the Gathering of Hope holiday feeding for the homeless and less fortunate.
The menu will include baked chicken, corn, green beans, potato salad, rice and more.
The event started in 2000 as an extension of efforts to feed the homeless and hungry. Prior to the event being established, Mom’s Kitchen fed the homeless every Wednesday night. The first Gathering of Hope fed 225 people who were transported to Ryan’s Steakhouse, which was once a buffet-style restaurant on North Main Street on the site of the newly constructed Tesla dealership just north of 23rd Avenue, Young said.
A local dignitary yet to be determined will be the guest speaker at the event, and local DJ Jerome Hyler will provide the music, Young said, adding that people can volunteer to help serve food at the event or donate funds.
Checks or money orders can be sent to Prophet George Young III at P.O. Box 5172, Gainesville, Florida, 32627.
Feeding the homeless and less fortunate during the holidays is something he is passionate about because he too was once homeless and addicted to drugs, Young said.
“As it is written in the book of Ezekiel in the Bible, ‘I sat where they sat,’ ” Young said. “There was a time when I was homeless in my own hometown. I slept in and around dumpsters. By me having come through that route, I see the need is great for the Gathering of Hope.”
People need hope as is evidenced by the many people on the streets and at intersections asking for any kind of help, Young said.
“The need is great,” Young said. “The Lord told us to reach out and not to judge who is who and what is what. We choose to do a home-cooked meal during the holidays, though we feed people throughout the year, because it is more satisfying to those receiving a hot, home-cooked meal.”
Young is doing the work of the Lord, said Karl Anderson, senior pastor of Upper Room Ministries in northeast Gainesville.
“It’s about having a heart of God,” said Anderson, who was the guest speaker at the event in 2007. “If we are Christians and Christ is in us, we ought to do things that are Christ-like. The holidays are a depressing time for many people. What Prophet Young is doing is evangelism and is what Jesus would do. It’s encouraging to let people know that they are down right now, there are people who love them.”
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gathering of Hope to feed homeless in Gainesville Florida