Each Wednesday from 12:30-1:30 p.m., up to 300 people in need gather at Miller Park for a free, homemade meal. And every week, volunteers with Mustard Seed Ministries go to the park to serve one of their many homemade soups.
Through a $2,000 grant from Walmart of Signal Mountain earlier this year, the ministry has been able to expand its Lunch in the Park program, which serves an average of 10,400 bowls of soup per year.
Mustard Tree Ministry's the Rev. Barry Kidwell presents a message inside First Baptist Church downtown. He tells the homeless and recently housed in the audience to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Since 2003, Mustard Tree Ministries has worked with the homeless and needy residents across Chattanooga. But the nonprofit hopes to expand its Lunch in the Park services to be able to provide more than just one meal per week. In order to do so, donations and volunteers are needed.
"There's the common misunderstanding that everyone who is homeless did something to cause it," Mustard Tree Director Barry Kidwell said.
But often, homelessness experienced at a young age can create a life-long struggle for those who don't have positive influences in their lives, he added.
And according to statistics from Chattanooga's Community Kitchen, more than 4,000 individuals experience homelessness per year in Chattanooga - with 1,000 of that number estimated to be children.
Over the past few years, "the number of homeless families has increased nearly 300 percent," the Community Kitchen's website states.
"The average age of the homeless is in the early teens, so there are a lot of children who are living in a homeless environment, whether it be in a shelter or on the street,"Kidwell said.
To find out about Mustard Tree Ministries' Lunch in the Park program, to volunteer or to donate, visit mustardtreeministries.org/lunch-in-the-park.
To learn about the faith-based nonprofit's other programs, such as their employment program and free clothes closet, call 713-6379.