I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me." (Matthew 25:35, CEB) 
 

Nightwatch Canteen volunteers are ready to serve meals in downtown Sioux Falls. Photos from Facebook.

Knowing exactly where the next meal is coming from and how it will be paid for is a luxury only some have. Since 2007, United Methodist congregations in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, have fed God's people through a mobile food truck called Nightwatch Canteen.

Chris Beach and his wife, Southern Hills United Methodist Church members, fit naturally into the food ministry. He works as the Child Nutrition Director for the Harrisburg School District, and she is the head of the nutrition department for the Sanford Hospital in Sioux Falls.

"When we joined Southern Hills, we were looking for ways to involve ourselves with the church and do some of their outreach. They were doing this mobile food thing. So, we're like, 'Hey, we know how to do food.' We volunteered. The people that were in charge left the church. We kind of took over, and we've been coordinating the Nightwatch Canteen at Southern Hills," said Chris Beach.

Nightwatch Canteen provides an evening meal for those in need in the Sioux Falls community. Meals are served out of the Nightwatch van. When it began, volunteers from seven United Methodist congregations would bring food and drinks each Sunday.

"It started with seven United Methodist Congregations filling a gap. The Banquet, an organization that serves hot meals, was not open on Sundays. So, the United Methodist Churches in Sioux Falls got together and started serving meals out of a Salvation Army's vehicle," said Chris.

In 2015, the Salvation Army approached the Nightwatch Canteen group and told them they would sell the vehicle. 

"That meant we would no longer have a vehicle," said Beach. "The Argus Leader stepped up, and Nightwatch received the Lend-A-Hand holiday season donations."

Volunteers from Asbury UMC gather in front of the Salvation Army vehicle.

The Argus Leader, a media company in Sioux Falls, sought out donations from Thanksgiving through Christmas and published a weekly story about the Nightwatch Canteen and its impact on the community, including a plea to support this cooperative effort. As a result, the seven United Methodist churches received a check for $107,000 from the annual Argus Leader Lend-a-Hand fundraiser. This money was used to purchase a vehicle, equip it, and cover insurance and maintenance costs for the Nightwatch Canteen program to continue delivering meals.

Today the Nightwatch Canteen serves free meals on Sunday evenings at two downtown locations, on Mondays next to Hayward Elementary School in northwest Sioux Falls and on Tuesdays in northeast Sioux Falls. Nightwatch has grown from the involvement of seven United Methodist churches as an informal organization to 12 multi-denominational churches and community organizations that are non-profit 501(c) organizations. 

"We could purchase a new vehicle, but it posed some other problems. We were a very loose organization with a significant amount of money," Chris said. "We found out that there may be tax implications for people handling the money. We were not a non-profit organization. We couldn't accept donations that were tax deductible. We have now incorporated and are non-profit. It was a two-year process."

A board meets quarterly with representatives from the seven churches that started the mobile hunger ministry, plus five additional members. Board members are from Asbury UMC, First UMC, First Lutheran, Gloria Dei Lutheran, Good News Church, Harrisburg UMC, Hilltop UMC, St. John Lutheran, Sioux Falls Thrive, Southern Hills UMC, Sunnycrest UMC, and Wesley UMC, all in the Sioux Falls area. 

"We now have a board and officers. There is basically one member from each church and organization. We have quarterly meetings to go over things," said Chris. "We set the schedule, manage the vehicle, and establish guidelines."

The current Nightwatch Canteen van.

With more organizations involved, the number of times each group serves decreased. "It used to be that we each served once or twice a month. But it now works out that we serve about every eight weeks," said Chris.

Each church is scheduled to serve on Sunday evenings in one of the two locations—Raven Industries parking lot or First UMC; or on Monday nights at Hayward Elementary School. Sioux Falls Thrive manages the meals on Tuesday nights. 

"So basically, the church [or organization] scheduled on that day oversees everything. They procure the ingredients, do all the cooking, and then serve at one of the locations. Then they clean up the vehicle and park it at First UMC," describes Chris.

Typically, on Sunday nights, 100-120 meals will be served at each location. On Monday and Tuesday nights, an average of 70 meals are served. 

"It really depends on the time of the year. In the colder times, we don't get as many people as we do when it's nicer out," shared Chis. "It also depends on the time of the month. Right before the EBT cards are reloaded, we get a lot of people. Then once those EBT cards get reloaded, it slacks off for a little bit for a week or two."

Several other food ministries have launched in Sioux Falls. But there is still a need for the mobile food ministry. 

"It is such a neat ministry, and it reaches a lot of people. Over the years, more and more organizations have been offering either meals or boxed food. We often wondered if we would continue to see people needing Nightwatch meals. People keep showing up. We may see the same family or people come for meals each week for about three years. Then they don't show up. We hope they find themselves in a better position—moving on and up," said Chris.

Plans are underway for Nightwatch Canteen to establish a digital presence by building a website and creating a Facebook page. If you want to learn more, volunteer, or donate, contact Christ Beach, vice president, ctabeach@midco.net, or Chester DeYooug, treasurer, chester.deyong@gmail.com.