For three weeks, the residents of Durant recovering from the EF-2 tornado that hit their community April 30 could count on at least one hot meal a day. That lunchtime meal was made available by Just the Crumbs, a non-profit ministry focused on feeding those in need following disasters.
Although an average of 250 Durant residents came to the tent in the front yard of the home of Chuck and Kelly Putnam every day for the last few weeks, the group ended meal service Saturday when they ran out of funds to purchase food.
“Our goal is always to stay as long as there is a need,” said Lavon Haden, president of Just the Crumbs and pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Kosciusko, “but we haven’t had the response we’re used to this time.”
The Putnams – members Haden’s church – offered their property at 436 West Street to park and power the meal preparation trailer with both water and electricity in gratitude for the lack of damage to their home.
“We were blessed that we didn’t have a single shingle lost from our house,” said Chuck Putnam. “We just decided that this is what we needed to do.”
Once Just the Crumbs set up shop at the Putnam’s, other residents started showing up to man the kitchen and tent to serve neighbors who came for a hot meal at lunchtime every day.
According to Haden, the organization can provide a hot meal to someone for about $1.15 in ingredients, plus another 35 cents in gas and electric.
“We’re trying to provide a hot meal, not fatten them up,” joked Haden, who said a typical meal includes a main dish, a side or two, dessert and sweet tea.
Serving meals in disaster areas is all part of his ministry.
“My number one goal in everything is to reach people for the Lord, but you can’t reach people until you show them that you love them just the way that they are,” he said.
“People aren’t coming to church anymore; you have to find them where they are.”
Just the Crumbs operates a thrift store in Kosciusko, but it doesn’t serve as a fundraiser.
“We don’t turn anything down. It is as important to accept what people can give as it is to give,” said Haden. The goal is to make goods available to people at the lowest cost possible because more are comfortable paying a little for something than accepting outright charity, he said.
Putnam said that his neighbors face extra difficulty since the federal government has declined to make direct aid available to individual residents.
“It is going to be a big problem. There’s hardly a house without damage,” he said. “Here, people don’t have money to do the repairs.”
Haden said that Just for Crumbs will start feeding people again as soon as funds become available.
