Members of Cross Culture have been involved in serving meals and supporting the needs of residents in the Downtown Eastside for over 20 years.  It all began with a small group of bible thumpers lead by Michael Collins who believed there was an essential biblical imperative to care for the needs of the poor.  In those early days, volunteers would buy ingredients for peanut butter and jam sandwiches as they drove down to Main & Hastings.  The sandwiches would get made from the back of the van as the crowds were gathering.  We have come a long way since those days and now our volunteer team prepares homemade soup, sweets, fruit & beverages in our Community Kitchen located at 7195 Cariboo Rd.  Another team transports and serves to the DTES.  All of this happens every Sunday and Tuesday night, starting at 10 pm.  We offer a unique support to residents of the DTES, as many individuals due to mental health or day labour work are not able to access food support during daytime hours.  While one of the outcomes of this ministry is practical food support, we also provide warm clothing, footwear, space blankets and sleeping bags when available. But more than these, the people who attend our street meal have become an extension of our Cross Culture family and integral part of our ministry.  We can see up to 300 people a night, with at least 20 to 30 supporting volunteers.

Since the onset of COVID 19 we have had to readjust the manner in which we serve and there is less time to visit on the street.  But we are still serving.  We are grateful to Key West Ford (New Westminster) who has also become one of our valued community partners, providing us with an awesome 15 seater van for ministry transport.  We continue to be a ministry of volunteers who believe passionately in helping the poor and food insecure both locally in our community, and in the downtown east side of Vancouver.  We have not missed a Sunday or Tuesday in 20 years, with the exception of one major snow storm, where roads were closed. Our plan is to keep on serving and if you would like to join us, contact Dr. Sue Wallace at crossculturebc@gmail.com.