Photo courtesy of Urban Recipe
North Georgia Conference | December 5, 2025
DECATUR, Ga. — When Decatur First UMC's visioning team set out in early 2023 to learn more about the needs of neighbors in DeKalb County, they expected to hear about affordable child care. Instead, they heard something else again and again: food insecurity. That listening led to the launch of two transformative ministries at the church.
"I was as surprised as anybody, and judging by how much these ministries have taken off, the need is real,” said Rev. Dalton Rushing, pastor.
Partnering With Urban Recipe Food Co-Op
To begin developing a mission plan for the coming years, vision team member Carrie Davis and associate pastor for mission Rev. Laura Rappold reached out to a church member with experience in hunger outreach. From that conversation, they learned about Urban Recipe—a food co-op that emphasizes care, responsibility, courage, and community.
The co-op offers a bi-weekly distribution of frozen and non-perishable food, produce, and home goods, fostering a supportive community.
"We immediately agreed we didn't have to wait on this," said Rappold. "The church can do this today."
By April, Decatur First UMC was hosting an Urban Recipe Food Co-op at the church. Families and individuals facing food insecurity are eligible to join the co-op. Every other week, those co-op members gather at the church for about two hours. A truck from Urban Recipe (with food from Atlanta Community Food Bank) arrives and the members unload it together. They sort the food into bins—frozen items, dry goods, and produce, plus extras that might include anything from Halloween decorations to skincare products to diapers.
After the bins are prepared, each family receives the number of bins to match their family size. The co-op elects a president, vice president, and secretary who run meetings and keep attendance. Members share the work according to their abilities." Strong relationships are built within the group," said Rappold. "I consider the co-op members my friends. We shared a million Happy Thanksgiving texts on Thursday!" The requirements to join are straightforward: you must be facing food insecurity, have transportation to attend, and have a refrigerator and freezer to store food. There's no fee, but members agree to follow the rules and participate.
The church's role is threefold. The congregation provides the space, funds the co-op (through its Christmas Eve Offering), and provides four to six trained volunteers from the congregation. Decatur First's program began with eight families. Co-ops can grow to 25 families in the first year and up to 50 after that. "We love Urban Recipe," said Rappold. "They are committed to the dignity of every co-op member. Everyone is in it together side by side. "In 2024, Decatur First co-op members received 21,617 pounds of food through the program. And this year, between January and October, co-op members have received 28,694 pounds of food.
The outreach doesn’t directly address homelessness, another known challenge in the community, but by providing between $8,000 and $10,000 worth of food per year to each family, the program helps prevent homelessness by relieving budget pressures that threaten housing stability.
The success led to the launch of a second co-op in Decatur.
"Last Thanksgiving, I went to Urban Recipe and asked if we could do a second co-op — maybe at a school or other location," said Rappold. "They shared that for a lot of reasons, the model works best if the co-op comes to you." Urban Recipe had an idea, though. They had a connection with interest at Clairmont Oaks retirement community. It would be appropriate to offer a co-op in that space for the residents. The pieces fell into place quickly, and 75 people attended the interest meeting at Clairmont Oaks. The co-op launched in July with funding and four volunteers from Decatur First UMC. As of October, members had received 7,377 pounds of food.
Partnering With Flowing With Blessings
In addition to food insecurity, homelessness is a growing struggle in the Decatur area.
After an earlier attempt at offering a shower ministry failed, a church member read about the non-profit Flowing With Blessings. The church reached out to learn more, and both organizations agreed this was a good fit.
Today, Flowing with Blessings brings two buses to the church parking lot every other month—one outfitted with showers, the other with washers and dryers.
While guests shower and do laundry, the organization serves hot meals and the church provides grab-and-go snacks in the gym. Tables full of clothing from Goodwill mean guests can pick out clothes and, as a bonus, they can wear those while their clothes are being washed. Barbers who have built relationships with Flowing With Blessings provide haircuts at no cost.
"The most moving thing to me is watching the care the barbers take," said Rappold. "It's not a three-minute thing. They talk. They encourage." She recalls overhearing a barber telling someone, "Just hang in there. Don't give up."
A DJ provides music, making the atmosphere welcoming and fun. Vendors set up tables offering information on housing resources, HIV testing, Hepatitis C screening, blood sugar testing, and other health services." Some people use the showers, some get their clothes washed, and some just come for the meal and fellowship," Rappold notes. About 80 guests attend each event. The church provides space, volunteers, and financial support to cover Flowing With Blessings' expenses. And volunteers of any age can participate. This year's Christmas Eve offering at Decatur First will help purchase a third vehicle for Flowing with Blessings.
The Power of Partnership
“Both of these have been wonderful ministries, transformative for our congregation and our guests,” said Rappold.
And Rev. Rappold sees a clear pattern in both ministries' success: "Partnering with well-run organizations that do good work is invaluable to us. We aren't the experts here. The partnership aspect is key."
The church's approach started with asking neighbors what they need, listening to the answer, finding organizations doing good work in those areas, and exploring how the church can partner with them.
"Our church members and staff are not unique," she said. "We have a building and we are compelled by the gospel and our love for our neighbors."
Sybil Davidson is director of communications for the North Georgia Annual Conference. This article is republished with permission from the conference website.