Drive through and pick up lunch being prepared for children, seniors, and loved ones at First Baptist Snellville and Grace Snell Middle School.Lettum’ eat! Sounds like something my grandmother would holler out the back door of her house to signal that dinner was ready. It sends an image to my mind reminding me of the cowboy western movies where the woman of the house rang a wrought-iron triangle bell to announce that food was ready and waiting on the dinner table.
For Chef Hank Reid, the term ‘lettum eat’ was something he would say when he had finished making the dinner plate and it was ready to be served. It was what he would say when he and his kitchen staff were ready to receive the dinner orders. So it’s not surprising that this is what he chose to name his non-profit mobile food service company.
LETTUM EAT! was born out of a desire that no one should go hungry. At least not with Chef Hank nearby. With the large kitchen space and heavy-duty commercial kitchen equipment of First Baptist Church of Snellville, the LETTUM EAT! ministry was officially launched in 2020.
During the week of Spring Break for the Gwinnett County Public School System, LETTUM EAT! provided free drive-through lunch and dinner for both students and senior adults. This was accomplished via two locations – FBC Snellville and Grace Snell Middle School. On Thursday of Spring Break, an additional site was added at Grace Snellville Church off Dogwood Road.
Senior Pastor Joe Lewis, Annistown Road Baptist Church, with Hank Reid was eager to collaborate with LETTUM EAT!A total of over 2200 meals were distributed during Gwinnett County’s Spring Break. At the end of each day, the leftover meals were given to residents of the extended-stay hotel in Snellville. In addition, 200 meals were donated to the Lawrenceville Boys and Girls Club.
Recognizing that there were other churches with a desire to use their large kitchen facilities to reach their community, Chef Reid began to reach out to other Gwinnett County churches. Senior Pastor Joe Lewis from Annistown Road Baptist Church was eager to collaborate with LETTUM EAT! “He is an extraordinarily gifted man with a passion to serve his community,” states Pastor Lewis. ARBC is thrilled to be in partnership with Hank as they together use food services as a way to serve and meet the needs of the Snellville community.
In addition, Hank’s long-standing relationship with Zoar United Methodist Church came into play. His grown children attended preschool at ZUMC and throughout the years, he taught basketball camps and culinary classes. “Chef Reid has contributed such a wonderful outreach during this time. Zoar is working with Hank on planning future outreach projects within the Centerville/Snellville communities,” states Tina Howell, ZUMC Office Manager.
How does this non-profit organization fund itself? Chef Reid is very active in fundraising by catering events like weddings, graduations and church gatherings. LETTUM EAT! is also funded by private donations as well. Though the ministry materialized through First Baptist Church of Snellville, it is a stand-alone non-profit hunger relief ministry.
To be a part of the solution to hunger, contact LETTUM EAT! Join the partnership of bringing awareness to the community as they mobilize their efforts to bring meals to people in need.
Website: lettumeat.com/
•Email: chefhank@lettumeat.com
•Instagram:
instagram.com/lettumeat/
•Facebook:
www.facebook.com/lettumeat/
•Twitter: twitter.com/lettumeat
