In 2001, Pastor Daniel West began to witness more people suffering from hunger than ever before. He believed that there was enough food to go around and creating access for the poor, homeless, and marginalized to receive food became his top priority. It broke his heart to learn children were going to bed hungry in his community. He believed if he gave what he could from his own pantry, God would provide more, and others would eventually come alongside him and help fight hunger. He asked the people of his local church to help fill up a pantry with non-perishable food. The first grocery store he spoke with, a local Publix store in Delray Beach, Florida believed they could help him close the hunger gap in the community and we are still picking up food donations from them today. The food pantry that started in a church closet began serving 200 needy families with dry goods two days a week.

Pastor Dan saw firsthand how unexpected expenses could cause a low-income household to become food insecure. Witnessing people trying to decide if they should pay their electric bill or buy groceries moved him into further action. He was filled with compassion and made it his life’s mission to help the food insecure one canned good at a time. Knowing how hard it can be to make daily ends meet, Pastor Dan serves those in need without judgment or hesitation. As he has provided for others, he has seen his own needs met, along with the needs of RBI at an organizational level.

“When you give from your heart with no intention of receiving anything back, it is incredible what happens, not just in yourself as a person, but in the community around you. People began showing up and meeting organizational needs beyond food, we began to receive refrigerated truck donations, and a pallet jack donation for our warehouse facility. It has been and continues to be an incredible mission to be a part of. It doesn’t matter your age, or how much you have in your pantry or your bank account, anyone can make a difference! People need to see kindness, love, mercy, and grace in action, to know that they are not suffering alone, meeting people’s food provisional needs has given them something beyond food, it has given them hope and people all over the world need hope.”