St. Peter’s United Methodist Church – Morehead City, NC
Adequate nutrition for mother and baby can save many young lives, according to findings of the World Health Organization. This need is both basic and vital for pregnant mothers and newborns. Food insecurity is a leading cause of preterm birth and low birth weight.
St Peter’s Church in Morehead City, in partnership with Martha’s Mission Cupboard, the North Carolina Rural Center, Carteret OB-GYN Associates and the North Carolina Medical Society, are leading the way in making sure no pregnant mother or newborn goes hungry in Morehead City and Carteret County.
Economic Development
While researching rural economic development, Bill Douglass, a dedicated member of St. Peter’s United Methodist Church, discovered the Connect Church program on the North Carolina Rural Center’s website.
“I was looking through rural economic development sites because it is a passion,” explained Douglass. “I came across the North Carolina Rural Center’s Faith In Rural Communities website and found it offered churches training on how to be effective community leaders through engagement, as well as a $10,000 grant.”
St. Peter’s has a history of community ministry working with a local soup kitchen to feed the needy. When Douglass brought the idea of participating in the Connect Church program to his pastor, Karl Zorowski, he reminded him, “Your sermons keep telling us that we need to walk with Christ outside the church walls. Here’s a great opportunity to do that.”
“We’ve been working with Martha’s Mission to provide food to families on the margins for years. When Bill brought this to me it just seemed like the next logical step,” Zorowski said. “So in 2022, we went through the Connect Church program. Granted the financial assistance the Center offered was certainly a draw, but we went through the program because St. Peter’s has always been a church that believes in ministering to the community.”
During the nine-month training part of Connect Church Douglass and his team, which included the pastor, were guided in the process of effective community engagement strategies. They conducted surveys to assess the congregation’s passions revealing a collective interest in supporting families.
The Center’s training eventually led to the successful implementation of one targeted project aligned with these interests, emphasizing the importance of informed community support and communication within the church.
“We identified a need at Martha’s Mission to assemble nutritional food boxes for Carteret Mother’s Care ran through Carteret OB-GYN Associates,” said Douglass. “So we took up the mantle, identified what the needs and the goals would be for the project through the training we received. And we followed the book that was provided by the North Carolina Rural Center to achieve our goal of getting nutritious food in the hands of prenatal mothers.”
Community Update
An important aspect of the Connect Church program is a continuous reevaluation of success and failure.
During a program update to an audience of healthcare providers and community members, Rev. Dr. Darren Crotts, the Rural Center’s Faith In Rural Communities senior program manager, explained about the Connect Church program. It was founded in 2018 with a gracious grant from The Duke Endowment.
“Our approach utilizes asset-based community development where we come into the church’s fellowship hall to sit with their team of community spark plugs and inspire Christ-like change in their community,” Crotts said.
For nine months, the NC Rural Center’s staff provides onsite coaching working with the church team’s individual assets, those of head, heart, and hands. “It can be financial assets, it can be physical assets or relational assets. We spend a ton of time building an asset map of the community,” Crotts explained.
Food Insecurity
Training provided by the Center emphasized the development of a strategic plan and goal metrics. It enabled the St. Peter’s team to specifically identify its initiative: a project focused on addressing community needs by providing pre-made boxes of food designed by certified nutritionists to address health concerns faced by these mothers.
In collaboration with its partners, the Carteret Mother’s Care Project serves 32 high-risk prenatal mothers, distributing these essential supplies tailored to the recipients nutritional needs. Ongoing action items also include ensuring the continuous replenishment of storage shelves and monitoring the impact of the project on prenatal mothers served.
Judy Goodwin Willis
“Intervention programs like the Mother’s Project facilitate open communication about food needs, allowing healthcare providers to offer necessary resources,”
Partnerships
Forming partnerships within the community is integral for the success of the Center’s faith-based initiative participants. St. Peter’s UMC high-risk pregnancy nutrition program gained one partner starting with a dinner conversation.
“I was at dinner with a friend and she was telling me about the Carteret Mother’s Care Program in Morehead City,” said Franklin Walker of the North Carolina Medical Society. “We came down to meet Bill’s organization and the others and immediately got involved. I must say it’s worked out better than I ever believed. This is a winner for a lot of people down here. We have this wonderful consortium of folks I want to replicate this in other communities.”
In the Carteret County community of Morehead City, infant mortality averages 6.7 per every 1000 births. Early identification of food insecurity can lead to timely support for pregnant individuals, improving maternal and fetal health outcomes.
“Intervention programs like the Mother’s Project facilitate open communication about food needs, allowing healthcare providers to offer necessary resources,” said Judy Goodwin Willis of Carteret OB-GYN Associates, whose organization administers the program.
“Addressing food insecurity during pregnancy can reduce the risk of complications such as preterm delivery and low birth weight, ultimately benefiting long-term child health.”
Using a two-question system to effectively encourage patients to disclose food insecurity in a non-threatening manner, healthcare providers identify and address food insecurity without putting patients on the spot in front of family members.
“By fostering open communication, the system helps improve health outcomes for both mothers and their babies through better nutrition,” said Goodwin Willis. “Continued awareness and education about the importance of nutrition during pregnancy can help ensure the project’s longevity.”
Carissa Kirby, Pregnancy Care Manager for Carteret County’s Medicaid High-Risk Pregnancy Program, witnesses firsthand the importance of St. Peter’s United Methodist Church’s Carteret Mother’s Care Project.
“The program is very impactful for both the expectant mothers and newborns we see across the county,” she said. “During any given time the health department is working with between 30 and 40 high-risk pregnant Medicaid patients in our county, about 60 percent suffer from food insecurity. The mothers have been grateful this program is available to supplement their prenatal nutrition with foods approved by medical dietitians.”
A Rocky Road To Success
The path for St. Peter’s successful Connect Church initiative was not an easy road, it was filled with twists and turns. An initial project identified by the team unraveled halfway through training. The team had to pivot to an alternate project.
“The Rural Center facilitated this pivot, allowing for a rapid transition to the new project,” shared Douglass. “The training provided by the center enabled the team to adapt quickly.”
Pastor Zorowski sees the Mother’s Program as a valuable initiative for St. Peter’s United Methodist Church and is willing to help promote the program and share its benefits with other churches across the state.
“Through our individual faith in Jesus Christ, God has made us a family, and he continues to strengthen our love for one another as we grow in our love for Him,” Zorowski said. ‘’The Rural Center’s Connect Church program has helped us identify and address community needs we may not have recognized before. It allows us to provide healthy food to high-risk and lower-income expectant mothers and newborns and is a program that can be replicated in other churches across the state.”
