Free Easter hams and parking lot prayers: Phoenix church responds to pandemic, inflation

The Vineyard Church North Phoenix ran out of free hams at 10:50 a.m. on Wednesday — with 10 minutes left before an Easter dinner giveaway was scheduled to end.

A long line of cars with people still waiting for food wrapped around the building, a testament to the rising rents and soaring food prices that have put a ham dinner out of reach for many families this Easter.

Joe Hernandez, wearing a green safety vest over his blue Vineyard Church T-shirt, quickly dispatched volunteers to dash over to Walmart and bring back more hams.

"We went to buy 40 more," said Hernandez, standing in the parking lot, a slight look of panic on his face.

The question was, would the volunteers get back before the people waiting gave up and left?

Hernandez is the coordinator of the Easter Hope Giveaway, which the church began in 2020 to help needy families during the first year of the pandemic. It has since become an annual event.

The church distributed about 140 hams last Easter. But anticipating that the need would be even greater due to the toll inflation has taken on working families, the church collected 185 hams this year, Hernandez said.

At 8.5%, the inflation rate in the Phoenix area remains among the highest of any metro in the nation. About 540,000 people in the Phoenix area live below the poverty rate, or about 11% of the population, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data, gathered in 2021.

Some of the hams were donated by members of the church, which has a large congregation of some 5,000 people. The church purchased the rest with donations, Hernandez said.

In addition to a ham, each family also received rolls, canned green beans and mac and cheese — enough food to put together an Easter dinner for a family. Plus, some staples were thrown in: spaghetti, pasta sauce, canned tuna, multigrain cereal, fruit spread, peanut butter and a case of Gatorade.

"You don't have to attend this church to be helped. Everyone is welcome," said Rachel Reynolds, 48, one of the volunteers. She and her husband, Robert Reynolds, 48, who is also a custodian at the church, were given the choice job of handing out hams.

"It may be selfish, but we asked for this job," Rachel said. "It's a blessing to see people smile and know they will have a happy Easter."

The event started at 10 a.m., but by 9:30 a.m. there was already a long line of people waiting in vehicles.

Mary Cooper, 80, was among the very first to arrive. She sat at the front of the line in her white Chevy with a bumper sticker that read "Addicted to Jesus 24/7."

In the passenger seat was her friend, Billie Edson, 81, who had also come to receive a free ham.

Cooper, a retired insurance agent, said she lives on her monthly Social Security check.

An 8- to 12-pound ham at Costco this year costs $18.32 to $27.48, which Cooper said she would not have been able to afford.

"We would have had (Easter) dinner, but something inexpensive like pizza," Cooper said. A moment later, volunteers arrived carrying two large hams, one for Cooper and one for Edson, which they plopped in the back of Cooper's open trunk.

People who received food were given the option of driving away or parking in the church's sprawling lot to shop for free clothing or receive a prayer.

In 2003, Eloisa Mendino, 46, was driving on 63rd Avenue with her husband, Jorge, when their car broke down. They pulled into a parking lot and realized the large building they had passed by for years was a church. A friendly person they encountered told them it was okay to leave their broken car in the lot until help arrived.

The next Sunday, they returned for a service. Mendino, a native of Mexico, is now an associate pastor at Vineyard Church North Phoenix, overseeing the church's growing Spanish-speaking congregation. On Wednesday, she led a team of volunteers offering prayers to people in need of more than free food.

Robin Gonzales, 65, who is disabled, stopped by for a prayer. She was accompanied by her 20-year-old granddaughter, Viviana Gonzalez, a certified nursing assistant. Gonzales said she mostly lives on a monthly $941 disability benefits check. Meanwhile, the monthly rent for her two-bedroom apartment has skyrocketed over the past three years from $650 to $1,000.

"We mainly ask for prayers for our finances. Everything has gone up," Gonzales said.

Around 11:15 a.m., a buzz went through the team of volunteers waiting for the van that had gone to Walmart earlier for more hams.

"The hams have arrived. Let's go," Hernandez announced.

The volunteers rushed over and distributed the 40 hams to the last group of people waiting in the parking lot. There was one ham left over. But at the last minute, someone else arrived.

"So everyone left with a ham," Hernandez said.

Daniel Gonzalez covers race, equity and opportunity. For tips reach the reporter at daniel.gonzalez@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-444-8312. Follow him on Twitter @azdangonzalez.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What happens when a church runs out of free Easter hams?