Tennessee pastor left church to feed families in food deserts

(NewsNation) — From the pulpit to the farm: A Tennessee pastor left his church five years ago to serve the hungry.

Pastor Chris Battle stepped down as leader of Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Knoxville — one of Knoxville’s oldest Black Baptist congregations — to grow and deliver food to a neighborhood where healthy options are scarce.

The neighborhood is considered a food desert and his mission is to end food insecurity while sharing the love of Jesus Christ at Battlefield Farm, which he established in 2018.

“I always loved gardening,” Battle said Thursday on “Morning in America.” “We had a little plot of land at the church and we started a community garden there.”

By creating that garden, Battle was able to meet neighbors and community members he didn’t know. He was able to see and interact with them, ultimately developing relationships with them.

One day, it dawned on Battle that people were living hungry in food deserts. He believed that with the proper tools, he could help fight and beat food disparity in his community.

Now, Battle is part of an organization of churches and volunteers fighting food deserts. There are currently five community gardens in use. The farm has more than 40 raised beds of produce, a high tunnel, lots of chickens and even bees, which are called the “Cardi Bees.”

“We’re hoping to just wipe it out because it’s literally killing our people that don’t have access to fresh fruits and vegetables,” Battle said.

Plus, Battle continues religious worship at the farm, hosting services for anyone who wants to be involved. He explained the ultimate goal in all of this is to share God’s love with the community and ensure the community has access to fresh produce.

Battle explained that church attendance has been declining for the last 20 to 30 years, and while he thinks church is the answer, Battle also believes in learning how to do things differently.

“People just aren’t going to churches anymore,” Battle said. “So, we’re going to have to learn how to do church, be the church.”

So, Battle began making changes and started to bring the church to the people. Making change in communities is one of the best ways to do this, he said.

“There are thousands of people going to hundreds of churches, and yet nothing is changing. We have to change the matrix of what success is. … We have to use new metrics to really affect the community and to make change,” Battle said.