Rev. Jamal Bryant, the prominent Atlanta-area pastor, made a call to action during his church’s latest Sunday service. Bryant encouraged his congregation not to contribute to a major giving campaign being held by the church, but instead told them to donate food as federal assistance ends amid the government shutdown.
Bryant urges donations of food, not money
11 Alive, Atlanta’s NBC affiliate, reported that Bryant made the unusual announcement during Sunday service. Speaking to the congregation of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest near Atlanta, Bryant paused a major giving campaign that was supposed to raise $1 million for the church. Instead, Bryant urged his congregation to make food donations for people who will soon be losing federal food assistance, as well as those who have been furloughed or otherwise put out of work. As 11 Alive reported, New Birth runs a giveaway program that typically provides groceries to around 1,500 people every other week, and the church is expecting that number to rise to about 2,000.
“We have a responsibility,” Bryant told the church on Sunday, pointing to the unprecedented political and economic crises facing the country. “Our history is going to record that this president is the very first president in American history to starve his own citizens.” In a video posted online, Bryant elaborates on the economic hardships that Americans are enduring. “Since March, 300,000 Black women have lost their jobs,” Bryant says in the video. He also notes that federal workers and contractors are going unpaid and millions of people are having their food assistance cut off during the ongoing government shutdown. He says he was inspired by God to forego one of his church service’s usual offerings, given the circumstances. “I didn’t feel like it would be right to ask people to march down with $5,000, $2,000, $3,000 and $1,000 when people don’t know how they’re going to pay their rent.”
Amid the Trump administration’s policies, Bryant leads community action
Bryant’s giving message highlights hardships that have been impacting Americans not only in Georgia but across the country as well. As Blavity previously reported, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits are poised to stop Nov. 1 because of the ongoing government shutdown and the Trump administration’s refusal to use contingency funds to cover the shortfall. This comes in addition to cutbacks and restrictions to SNAP passed by Republicans earlier this year, as well as job losses, including those caused by federal layoffs under the Trump administration.
Bryant, meanwhile, has made a name for himself through his social activism. He rose to national prominence in early 2025 by calling for a Black customer boycott of Target after the big-box store chain rolled back its diversity initiatives in line with the Trump administration’s anti-DEI stance. The boycott has contributed to Target’s economic slump, leading to the company’s executive leadership meeting with Bryant and other activists this year. Amid corporate changes in Target but no movement on restoring its diversity efforts, Bryant recently called for the boycott to continue. Bryant referenced the boycott in his remarks Sunday, telling his congregants, “Clean out your cupboard, go to the supermarket — Publix, Costco, Walmart — just don’t go to Target. We want to be a blessing to families in this city and in this community, not just in this congregation.”
Having led Black people across the nation to boycott Target over its failures to benefit the Black community, Bryant is now leading his local congregation to serve those around them. In doing so, he is ordering that his own church’s income take a backseat to the needs of the community, hopefully inspiring those who listen to him to donate generously at a time when those needs are growing due to politics.