Happy Thanksgiving everyone! In light of all of the feasting that is happening across the nation this week, I wanted to focus on an organization that is putting food into the hands of people who need it the most: Magic City Harvest, the only food recovery program in the Greater Birmingham area.

For the past 14 years, Magic City Harvest has recovered food, prevented food waste, and educated the community on topics such as nutrition, poverty, and hunger. Using a network of over 800 volunteers, MCH collects donated excess food from places like grocery stores, restaurants, and cafeterias, and transports it to more than 30 feeding programs in Jefferson, Shelby, and Talladega counties. All of the recipient feeding programs are non-profit organizations that include soup kitchens, shelters, and food pantries.

Magic City Harvest has distributed over 5 million pounds of food to hungry people since its beginning, and over 1 million pounds of food in just 2008 alone! They also hold an annual World Hunger Day event, and at the most recent one in October they fed a meal to approximately 3300 people. Other programs include their Empty Bowls annual fundraiser and their current “U-CAN” food drive in which they are partnering with Starbucks stores in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Oxford to collect cans and other non-perishable food items.

There are 80,000 people in the Greater Birmingham area who fall in the category of “food insecure,” which MCH defines as “a condition in which people lack basic food intake to provide them with the energy and nutrients for fully productive lives.” One in five of those 80,000 are children.

These might just be statistics to you, but each number represents actual hungry people and malnourished bellies. So please, as you spend this holiday being thankful for the blessing of family, friends, and food, consider sharing your bounty with those who are in need. Magic City Harvest has some great ways to get involved, donate food, and reach out to people in our community. Find out more at their website.

Each week Bedouins International posts a story. Maybe it’s one we’ve helped to tell, or a story we hope to tell, or it maybe it’s just a story we think deserves to be told. In any case, we hope you find them inspiring and motivating. Read more stories here.

Bedouins International has been telling stories from all around the planet during the past couple of years. In 2010, we’re hoping to connect with more local ministries in the Birmingham area while still staying involved with ministries overseas and in other parts of the States. So for this week’s story, we wanted to feature an organization that is literally right around the corner from our office—in fact, we can see the Brother Bryan Mission from the 5th floor window of the Bedouins International loft!

For nearly 70 years, Brother Bryan Mission has been helping homeless and impoverished men from Birmingham get off the streets and transition into a better life. As a non-profit, nondenominational Christian organization, BBM believes that the “life-changing power of God and His Word” is a vital aspect to recovering from issues such as depression, alcoholism, and substance abuse. The Mission is a long-term shelter with room for 66 men who are required to have a job in return for a place to stay. Besides the basics of three nutritious meals a day, a bed to sleep in, and a safe place to live, BBM also offers counseling services, access to AA, NA, and Celebrate Recovery meetings, nightly chapel services, transportation to work, and seminars on life skills. Their programs are designed to help men “learn to live responsible, productive and independent lives and to become contributing members of the Church, the family and the community within 9 to 24 months.”

The motto of BBM is “Changing lives through Christ-centered recovery,” which has been the goal from the very beginning. The mission was named after James Bryan, a pastor in Birmingham who was well-known for his good deeds such as running soup kitchens for the homeless and handing out presents to poor children in the Christmas season. He earned the nickname “Brother Bryan” because he always addressed people as either brother or sister and ministered to both the physical and spiritual needs of his community. His last wish before he died was to start a shelter where homeless men could find a meal, a bed, and God’s love. Brother Bryan Mission was founded shortly before he died in 1940 and has moved locations four times until finding its current location on 2nd Avenue North in downtown Birmingham.

Brother Bryan Mission is supported solely by donations. Their website tells more about the history of the mission and includes directions on how to donate your time or money. Though it may be one of the oldest non-profits in the area, BBM is keeping the community up to date through its Facebook page, Twitter account, and blog.

Each week Bedouins International posts a story. Maybe it’s one we’ve helped to tell, or a story we hope to tell, or it maybe it’s just a story we think deserves to be told. In any case, we hope you find them inspiring and motivating. Read more stories here.

It’s Wednesday. That means the week is half over, which means that the Banquäla is only 3 days away! It’s here! So this will be the final teaser video for the event. Media is Relational. Come join in this movement, get connected and inspired. We want you to be a part of this…and for media to “work”, we NEED you to be a part of it. Hope to see you all at the Banquäla Saturday!

Media is Relational from Bedouins International on Vimeo.