Story and Photos by Jan Osborn.
T.D. Jakes Ministries, in partnership with Services of Hope, Hardie’s Fresh Foods, City of Dallas, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) farmer to families program, offered an enhanced COVID-19 food delivery initiative on Saturday, May 30. This effort helped provide significant food relief to thousands of North Texas residents who were able to drive-thru pickup lines at the three North Texas Potter’s House locations: Dallas, Ft. Worth and North Dallas.
T.D. Jakes and Mayor Eric Johnson hand out boxes of food at The Potter’s House.
Through a partnership with the USDA, the City of Dallas and other organizations, 5,000 boxes of specially selected food items were donated to the North Texas community on Saturday, May 30. Each box included meat or fish, produce, fresh items and milk supplied by Borden’s in collaboration with the City of Dallas. When asked about the event today, T.D. Jakes said, “Well, it’s always been the philosophy of our church to be the hands and feet of the Lord and to really beef up the gospel into a form that you can see by serving the needs of the people and serving the community. Our churches have a long history of reaching out in times of crisis and need here in Dallas. We have 4,000 volunteers and 300 people on staff, and whatever we’re called upon and it’s something within our capabilities to do, we stand with the city and the mayor to do whatever we can to try to make things better.”
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“The onus is upon each of us to do just a little bit better job of being our brother’s keeper and if we will do that, we will speed the feelings of the emotional toll that has eroded on the dignity and the humanity, that is necessary for any society, to be able to thrive. ”
Mayor Eric Johnson said, “The partnership and the working together is absolutely critical. At this time, no one part of this community is going to be able to address all of these needs because it is so great. The government has resources, but not enough. The private sector has resources, but in some cases not the relationship. And the nonprofit sector, can’t do it alone. But all working together, we can accomplish great things for the city. That is what T.D. Jakes is doing. I think he’s a great example of a willing partner to the city and a willing partner in the private sector in delivering much needed help to this community. It absolutely is critical that we all work together.” When Mayor Johnson was asked what we could do to help he responded, “Do exactly what Borden did which is just pick up the phone and call City Hall. They can call me at 214-670-3301.”
This food distribution drive is just one of many efforts that T.D. Jakes Ministries and The Potter’s House have engaged in since the world changed in March 2020. The ministry has also cooked and hand-delivered freshly made meals to health workers and emergency first-responders each week, provided 12,000 pounds of food to senior citizens in North Texas, hosted financial literacy workshops for low-to-moderate income families and underserved communities, helped returning citizens secure employment and ensured that more than 2,000 families in Zambia receive essential resources and meals.
Located in Dallas, The Potter’s House is a 30,000-member nondenominational, multicultural church and humanitarian organization led by Bishop T.D. Jakes, twice featured on the cover of Time magazine as America’s Best Preacher and as one of the nation’s 25 Most Influential Evangelicals. The Potter’s House has five locations: The Potter’s House of Dallas, The Potter’s House of Fort Worth, The Potter’s House of North Dallas, The Potter’s House of Denver and The Potter’s House OneLA.
