Greenpoint Church Reacts to Neighborhood Need

It was the many knocks on the door of their apartment over Greenpoint Reform Church that convinced Rev. Jennifer Aull and her co-pastor Rev. Ann Kansfield that there was a need for an emergency food program in their neighborhood. Four months later, church members and volunteers now serve hot meals to 50 people a week and packaged food bags to 90. Like all nascent soup kitchens and food pantries, Greenpoint’s emergency food program must sustain itself through private funds for three to six months before being eligible to apply for food from the Food Bank or United Way. For volunteers and members of the church this early process, though challenging, has brought them closer to the needs of their community and customers. Said volunteer Christine Zounek, “These are the people I’ve been seeing on Greenpoint Avenue for 11 years, and now I know them all. I know all their names.”