CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For the last week, Griffin Brody from Charlotte has been planning out how he would get all the needed food and containers to make about 80 meals.
His first step was to pick up 40 lbs of chicken Saturday from the Charlotte Knights Community Chicken Sale at BB&T Ballpark.
“All the individuals that have been inflicted by the poverty in America really, really got to me,” Brody says.
He spent about three hours prepping all the food Saturday. Then, Sunday he woke up before sunrise to get cooking.
“I was up at about 4 a.m., started cooking around 4:30 a.m. and finished about 12:30 p.m.,” Brody says.
He packed up his car and headed over to the Urban Ministry Men’s Shelter. Dozens of people are now sleeping in tents along North College Street due to limited space inside the shelter. Steve Ray was one of the people to receive a meal.
“It’s really nice,” Ray says. I appreciate people coming out and helping us. I am really thankful, thankful for any food I get.”
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say some of the people staying in tents on private property will have to vacate by Friday August 14. It’s one of the reasons Brody wanted to help out now.
“Just bringing as much awareness as I can so hopefully the city does something, or a private group does something,” Brody says. “This is the least I can do to sort of make a difference.”
He wasn’t the only one who wanted to help these people out. Joshua Smith also showed up with food and sanitary supplies from Elevation Church in Charlotte.
“It breaks my heart to see people live like this,” Smith says. “I have been homeless before. I know how it feels to wonder where your next meal will come from. It’s our Christian duty to help our fellow men.”
It’s a temporary fix to a problem these men say needs a permanent solution.
