LWB's frontline defense against hunger shifts to Common Ground Church
Sold-out ‘Head, Heart, Hands’ benefit dinner Friday aims to raise $25,000 for homeless outreach efforts in Lake Worth Beach
THREE MONTHS AFTER city officials banned food sharing at Bryant Park, a Lake Worth Beach church has emerged as the city’s new frontline defense against hunger and homelessness.
Now, Common Ground Church at 1201 S. Federal Highway has invited the community to gather around the dinner table and throw a lifeline for the working poor and homeless.
The church is hosting a sold-out benefit dinner Friday, May 15, to raise $25,000 for the meal and resource programs anchored by the Burrito Project, a community-driven volunteer group that uses the church as its home base.
Over a Cuban-style pork roast dinner with traditional fixings, more than 80 guests will hear personal stories from former homeless people whose lives were transformed by outreach programs like the ones offered at Common Ground.
“It’s going to be a really nice evening,’’ said Pastor Mike Olive, who hopes the dinner can grow into an annual event.
The event’s name — “Head, Heart, Hands” — is meant to invoke what Olive calls “a thoughtful and holistic approach” to addressing hunger among the city’s working poor and homeless.
“If we have a head, heart and hands approach and we work together with the local government, we can figure this out,’’ he said. “Homelessness is not going to go away. It’s something we have to navigate. Doing it in a humane way has got to be a priority, and there’s a way to do it.’’
Homelessness, a national problem, has been a particularly controversial topic in Lake Worth Beach for years.
Downtown businesses owners have complained about people using drugs and relieving themselves in public. Some residents have said they didn’t feel safe Bryant Park, a scenic downtown waterfront park that had been used for years by food-sharing groups.
When city officials considered new permitting rules that banned food-sharing programs in Bryant Park, they asked private faith-based groups to step up and host those activities on their properties.
By then, Common Ground was already helping. In 2024, the Burrito Project lost its operations base, the parking lot of Church by the Glades at 127. S M St., when that church sold the site.
Olive reached out to Randy Lewis, who founded the Burrito Project in 2009, and invited the group to set up at Common Ground Church. The Burrito Project also used Bryant Park to share food until city officials started considering the new permitting rules, which were approved in February.
“I could see that the only way we were going to keep going was to volunteer on private property,’’ Lewis said.
Today, Common Ground hosts foodshares four days a week, through the Burrito Project on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday and through another program, The Lord’s Lunch, on Friday.
The Burrito Project, through a network of volunteers, also offers free services like mobile showers, haircuts and clothing giveaways, all from the church’s rear courtyard.
”We serve anybody that has a need,’’ Lewis said. “If you are hungry I will get you food, and that’s what we’ve done for 16 years. It has taken a lot to get that organized enough so I can go to bed at night and know everyone in downtown Lake Worth has access for one meal at least today.’’
So far, there have been no major complaints about Common Ground’s food-sharing operations in the neighborhood, Olive and Lewis said.
“We police ourselves pretty well,’’ Lewis said, “because they know if they screw up too badly there is no other place to go.’’
Olive said he understands the concerns from residents who didn’t feel safe in Bryant Park.
“I’ve walked away from situations I’ve seen in the park. I get it. I understand it,’’ he said.
But he said Common Ground and other faith-based advocates for the homeless will always want to offer help to those in need.
“We really want to work with our neighbors and with our community,’’ he said. “We are trying to raise support for different groups that come and facilitate it in a way that works with the community.’’
Among the guests at Friday’s dinner will be neighborhood leaders, some city commissioners, a few Palm Beach philanthropists and a representative from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
There will be video presentations and a live podcast, along with raffles and silent auctions for vacations, restaurant gift certificates and other donated products and services.
One speaker will be the actor and philanthropist Bruce “Busta” Soscia, who has appeared in movies with Adrian Brody, Liam Neeson and Rob Lowe.
“The people serving the homeless every day do not get the spotlight and they should,’’ Soscia said in a statement.
The ‘Head, Heart, Hands’ benefit dinner is sold out.
Click here to donate to the homeless outreach efforts by Common Grounds Church and the Burrito Project.
Thank You! LWB Independent; Important reporting of important work. Just imagine...if every place of worship in our community joined in this effort by asking their members to contribute evan a $ or two to this good work...
We need a church that feeds the homeless in college Park neighborhood