“Hey, can I put four chickens in your freezer?”
Neighbors around Trinity Episcopal Church in Manassas usually said yes to this urgent call from Jennifer Smith, a church member who often rescued soon-to-expire food.
Smith, a main volunteer for the church’s Food Ministry, had to count on her own freestanding freezer and a personal network to save chickens and other perishable nutrition for neighbors in need of food. But all that effort is streamlined now: perishable food donations are secure in the church’s new, spacious freezer purchased with a $2,000 grant from the Bishop’s Appeal.
The freezer aptly represents this faith and shoestring operation promoting food security. For more than two decades the Food Ministry has helped everyone who asked for food, even when freezers and cupboards appeared bare. “Be swift to love,” is the mission of Trinity Manassas, and the transaction of food demonstrates and inspires love.
“We have a community, not just people standing in line,” Smith said.
“The people who come are just the most amazing people with the most amazing stories of resilience,” said volunteer Barbara Yow. “It’s not about tragedy and need and survival as much as it is that we are hope. Together, we are hope.”
Giving Beyond Need
The Food Ministry used the grant like its other resources, by squeezing its greatest value. Believing funding would be granted, the church volunteers locked in a discount with a local Lowe’s. That savings ended up initially stocking the 20.1 cubit foot freezer.
“She’s a big girl when she’s full,” said Smith, whose superpower is finding low-cost or free food. She once rescued 800 pounds of chicken pieces, frozen into odd shapes that made storage challenging.
“Having a consistent freezer is a bonus because with rescued food, we don’t know what we’re going to get or when or the quantity,” she said. “This freezer allows us to accept food anytime, so we have more flexibility and more options to offer the community. We have a greater variety, more consistently.”
“This freezer allows us to respond immediately to not only need, but to give beyond the need,” Yow said. “We are swift to love, and the freezer allows us to respond in a very swift and purposeful manner.”
Trinity Manassas began the Food Ministry modestly, with the Daughters of the King preparing bags of ingredients for five high-protein suppers, enough for a family of four with access to a kitchen. The need increased during the pandemic, and the church began distributing bags twice a month, with 15 volunteers pitching in each time.
As more unhoused people make requests, the Food Ministry offers meal bags that do not require kitchen preparation.
Mustard Seeds Add Up
When others around Old Town Manassas find out about the Food Ministry, they give what they can, too. A nearby convenience store owner offers his microwaves and hot water for no charge to the unhoused food recipients. Likewise, other neighbors have pitched in, some with anonymous Amazon deliveries.
“A woman walking her dog stopped to talk to our parish administrator who also has a dog, and asked about what was going on at Trinity,” Yow said. When she heard about the Food Ministry, the woman “turned around, put her dog in the house, and came back with lots of boxes of cereal and a $250 check.”
“Another neighbor called the church and said, ‘Hey, can I put a sign in my yard and just collect food for you, even though I don’t go to your church?’” Smith added. “And she did, and she just showed up with that food.”
The food is distributed with only three questions asked: Are you hungry? Do you have access to a kitchen? Is anyone in your household over age 55? The last question relates to other grants.
“Grants like the Bishop’s Appeal help places like us that don’t qualify for government funding,” Smith said. “It’s something small, like a mustard seed, that can be the catalyst. We’re too small to partner with USDA and we don’t qualify for other organizational opportunities that require data that we don’t wish to collect from people receiving the food.”
Loaves and Fishes in Manassas
When people miss the distribution days, the Food Ministry still responds. Recently, an unemployed mom of two children contacted their website seeking food. “I can go put something together,” Yow typed in reply, not knowing what was available. The same moment, another email arrived from the parish administrator, about an Amazon Fresh shipment arriving unexpectedly.
The story traveled from Yow to the youth minister who shared it with middle schoolers as they assembled food. The minister asked them, “When a need arises and the gift is given at the same time, what do you call that?”
“A miracle,” the children said.
“What does this story sound like?”
“The fishes and loaves.”
The little boy giving what he had opened the hearts of others in the crowd. “Many people in that crowd of 5,000 really did have their own food, and all of a sudden, they were willing to share,” Yow said. “The freezer is a piece of our puzzle like that. It not only lets us to do what needs to be done, but it triggers others to give. We have seen greater need, especially with federal workers out of work and the nightmare of immigrants and ICE, but that has triggered people to know that they can give, and it is significant when they do. That freezer is part of our fishes and loaves story. It is one more tool that we have for giving and receiving, and that is the Trinity Manassas story.”
A Grant Keeps Giving
Bishop’s Appeal grants are a competitive grant program of the Diocese of Virginia available to our congregations and funded each year from the generous gifts to the annual Bishop’s Appeal. These grants strengthen, encourage, and uplift ministries of our congregations through program expansion, leadership development, facility improvement/expansion, or technology enhancement. Grants can be used to support special projects, develop new programs, or expand existing ones.
“Getting a grant is a credential,” Yow said. “The Bishop’s Appeal grant is not a terribly complicated process, and if you’re not used to writing grants, it’s a good way to cut your teeth.”
The Bishop’s Appeal grant helped the Food Ministry get other funding within the church and community. Over nine days in August 2025, the congregation fully funded the $24,000 budget for 2026. They were inspired by a sixth-grader’s presentation of her own research, “Food Drives for Dummies.”
“You can do this, too,” she told the congregation.
And they do, through a Food Ministry with a new freezer.