Volunteer Antonio Jones serves the noontime meal at The Master’s Table Soup Kitchen. His experience of being homeless led him to want to help others who are struggling with hunger and homelessness.
Three years ago, Antonio Jones was in a tough spot in Charleston, S.C.
“All I had was a truck – a Chevy S10 – and I was sleeping at the park, going to the nearest gas station, washing up and going to work the next day,” Jones says.
Back then he struggled; he didn’t know food banks like Golden Harvest or soup kitchens like The Master’s Table existed. Jones eventually made his way back home to Aiken, but his experiences left him wanting to help others dealing with hunger and homelessness.
“We’ve all been touched in some way by being in need,” he says.
Now, he and some fellow artists have organized two successful #WillRap4oFood Community Cookouts at the Food Bank’s downtown soup kitchen. Jones’ father tows in the family’s grill, and the friends set up a DJ booth so music flows down Fenwick Street. The line to receive a haircut from more friends from the Aiken School of Cosmetology & Barbering lines one side of the courtyard and snakes around the corner, and volunteers hand out trays of burgers and hot dogs as guests arrive.
“I think what we’re doing here is we’re lining ourselves up with the will of God, and he’s just blessing us in the ways we can’t do ourselves,” Jones says.
The friends planned a #WillRap4ofood concert in December, and hope to turn their Community Cookouts into a nonprofit.
