Native American elder basket program now brings statewide relief

By Jessica Brodie

One longtime ministry to elderly Native Americans has expanded into a food relief endeavor that now reaches both Native and non-Native people alike across South Carolina, all in the name of Jesus.

For years, South Carolina United Methodists have helped supply Native American older adults with what is called “elder baskets.” Elder baskets are plastic clothes baskets filled with nonperishable items and given to older people in need—many of whom live well below the poverty line—to help them through trying times. The baskets contain canned food as well as items such as laundry soap, paper towels, toilet paper and other toiletries that cannot be purchased with food stamps.

But since the pandemic, and with the rise of even more food deserts in the state, the elder basket ministry has exploded into a full-blown hunger-relief project bringing the ten state and federally recognized Native tribes together with United Methodist and other Christian relief ministries. And today, it’s a massive project feeding an incredible number of people.

For participant Cathy Nelson, who is part of the Keepers of the Word Grandmother Drum group in the Lowcountry, the UMC Native American Committee and a member of Cottageville Community Methodist Church in Cottageville, it’s all about stepping up to alleviate hunger in the name of Jesus.

“We rose to meet the need and try and stand in the gap,” Nelson said, adding that working with other Christians, community and tribal leaders has enabled them to do far more to help than anyone could possibly do alone.

Lee Anne Lamar, of the Keepers of the Word Turtle Drum group in Chapin, says the project was a natural extension of what they were already doing, just on a much larger scale.

“We’ve kept the name ‘elder baskets,’ but it’s much expanded,” Lamar said. “It really provides an opportunity to be Jesus to people who need it.”

God laid the groundwork

Before COVID, the elder baskets were already in great demand, and the problem of food deserts was worsening in South Carolina, especially in rural and poverty-stricken communities, where residents might not be able to drive and have drastically limited access to affordable, nutritious food.

The Native American Committee had been assembling and distributing elder baskets to older adults in the Catawba tribe, plus the nine state-recognized tribes, as well as other small tribal community groups.

In 2019, the South Carolina Annual Conference issued a call to every charge in the state to assemble and bring one elder basket to the June gathering of Annual Conference, as well as encouraged people to purchase gift cards to help the Conference Committee on Native American Ministries get extra supplies for people in need.

Nelson said the response was massive. “I had to rent the largest U-Haul truck they had in Greenville afterward, and we loaded some 385 baskets and got those out to the people.”

As for the gift cards, they tucked those away until needed.

Nelson said they didn’t know it then, “But God was making a way.”

Stepping up after food supply chain ‘shattered’

When the pandemic hit the following March, the already strong need, along with the food deserts, skyrocketed. As Nelson explained, “The food supply chain literally shattered.”

Thankfully, the extras provided at the 2019 Annual Conference, especially the gift cards, enabled Nelson and other members of the Keepers of the Word drumming and prayer group, as well as members of the NAC, to step up to serve.

And the needs just kept growing—and growing.

Nelson had been doing aquaponic farming, and she began to increase her efforts, giving away what she could. Meanwhile, as other groups in the Lowcountry saw her efforts and her connection with the Native tribes, they began giving her their own leftover produce, meats and baked goods to give away. Simultaneously, Lamar said, the tribes also began linking up with organizations and other farmers. And Nelson and Lamar, still helping with elder baskets, started asking around about deeper needs.

Soon, everyone was connecting, all with one major goal: getting people the food and basic home supplies they needed.

That connection was powerful, Nelson said.

“The Pee Dee nation had this, and somebody else had that, and we all started talking to each other and really working together.”

There were so many people connecting that tribal status didn’t really matter, she said. They fed Native and non-Native people—whoever was in need. Nelson was offered the opportunity to do a food pickup at her local Food Lion three days a week about a year ago, and eventually, space became available in the Midlands at Mission Lake, the former site of The State newspaper—which also happens to have been the site of the signing of the 1721 treaty between the Cherokee and colonial South Carolina.

‘Our divine appointment’

Now, Nelson, tribal leaders, Christian organizations and others gather frequently in that central location, giving out the food to the tribes and organizations, who then get it into the hands of the people directly.

Nelson said what was especially beautiful to her was that Keepers of the Word was invited to do drumming and prayer during the distribution—singing Native, sacred, Christ-centered prayer songs—and often they do the drumming while they are serving.

“It is our divine appointment,” Nelson said. “It’s truly a God thing.”

Lamar said she can imagine how difficult it is for people on fixed incomes to get the food and toiletries they need. Not long ago, she could buy basic shampoo at a dollar store for $1 per bottle, but now prices have risen drastically and she often has to shell out 10 times that price. Sometimes, she’ll drive long distances just to find items at a deep discount, then purchase those and put them in the elder baskets.

And she doesn’t forget that one time, when she happened to include paper towels in a basket she took to someone, and the recipient burst into tears of joy because they hadn’t been able to afford paper towels in so long.

“Now we make sure to include paper towels,” she said.

Nelson and Lamar said they, Keepers of the Word, the Native American Committee and others involved have no intention of stopping what they’ve started

“We have big plans,” Lamar said.

They just want to keep serving people in need whatever way they can for as long as they can.

Anyone who wants to help their efforts can reach out to Nelson about how to donate or volunteer. Call 843-217-0962.