The Red Truck Ministry began in 2017 in the boiler room of West Lynchburg Baptist Church as the result of the prayers of area ministers. From its beginning, the Red Truck has sought to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ by engaging the citizens of the eight food deserts in the greater Lynchburg area with healthy food. In addition, The Red Truck Ministry has sought to build relationships within and between the different communities in our area (inner city, suburban, rural, individuals, neighborhoods, corporate, religious, etc.) and thereby bring down walls that separate people. The Red Truck Ministry has sought to help its clients out of poverty with counseling, prayer, encouragement, financial aid and connecting those in need with local helping organizations.

 

That first year, the Red Truck Ministry dispensed over 250,000 pounds of food to over 4,000 people in 1 of the 8 food deserts in the greater Lynchburg area. The Red Truck Ministry is now (2024) in four of the eight food deserts in Lynchburg and in the last 12 months has dispensed 122,000 pounds of food to 10,237 people. The Red Truck Ministry is located in a 4000+ square foot space on the corner of Fifth and Jackson Street and boasts approximately 90 volunteers.

 

With all of that growth, the need continues to grow. In the two years ending on September 30, 2023, the number of individuals served has grown 41%. The Red Truck Ministry anticipates that the need will continue to grow at approximately this rate for the foreseeable future. Over the past year the expenses of the Red Truck Ministry have grown from approximately $60,000 per year to over $100,000. We see this as a result of the growth of individuals served and the higher cost of food. One observation is that the higher cost of food plays a double whammy, if you will, on our budget because the higher cost of food also drives more people to seek out our services.

 

To address these current needs and to look to the future needs of The Red Truck Ministry, the board has committed itself to a 5-year fundraising campaign. In this campaign, the board will be seeking to raise the annual budget to $300,000 per year and to raise $1 million dollars to purchase or build a 10,000 square foot facility.

 

Because of that commitment, the Board of The Red Truck Ministry asks for your support. First and foremost, the board asks for your prayer support. As one local pastor once said, “Nothing of eternal consequence is ever accomplished without prayer”. We believe that the Red Truck is God’s idea; God led and God supported. The Red Truck is something of eternal consequence. Second, the board is asking for your support in time and money. $2.5 million dollars over 5 years sounds like an impossible goal. The Board doesn’t believe that. Won’t you prayerfully consider making a gift toward the Red Truck’s goal? Jesus did say that we should “store up for ourselves treasures in heaven”.