Greater Cabarrus Foundation Spotlights Solo Faith Church's Food Mission

At Solo Faith Church, everything we do begins with Jesus (Yahshua) and his command to love our neighbor as ourselves. This month, that love showed up in print: the Greater Cabarrus Foundation published a feature story on Pastor Doug Lattimore and the food ministry growing out of our Concord congregation. We're grateful for the recognition — and we want to share the story with our own community.

The Greater Cabarrus Foundation's feature on Pastor Doug Lattimore and Solo Faith Church's food ministry in Concord, NC.

When a Question About Chairs Became a Mission

As the foundation's writer, Avalin Inman, tells it, our food ministry started in an unexpected place. After Solo Faith Church secured a building in 2024, we didn't have enough chairs for the congregation. A fellow pastor connected us with a ministry in Hickory willing to donate some. But before the truck was loaded, that pastor asked a question that changed everything: "Do you need any food?" Pastor Doug thought he meant food for his own family. "He said, 'Not for you. For your community.'"

That question sent Pastor Doug on monthly trips to Hickory to bring food back to Cabarrus County. At first it was hard to reach the families who needed it most — flyers went unanswered, and folks were hesitant to come inside a church they didn't yet know. Then one day he simply set the food outside. "When I came back, it was all gone," he recalls. "I realized there was a real need in our community."

Rethinking What a Food Pantry Can Be

Out of that need came a question worth asking: what if a family could request groceries the same way they access other services online — without traveling to a fixed location during limited hours? That idea became what is believed to be the first online food pantry in North Carolina, and one of the first in the nation. "It's about removing barriers," Pastor Doug told the foundation. "If someone needs help, we want the process to be as simple and welcoming as possible."

But an online pantry can't solve every problem. For many neighbors — especially those with limited mobility — the hardest part isn't finding food. It's getting it home. So Solo Faith Church added a DoorDash-supported delivery program that brings groceries directly to the door. Today that service focuses on senior citizens, military veterans, and residents with disabilities who face transportation barriers. And it carries more than groceries. "We do groceries and hygiene items," Pastor Doug explained. "The dashers will distribute hygiene items as well."

Technology in the Service of People

Solo Faith Church has built AI systems into the pantry to help process requests and streamline deliveries — what we believe is one of the first AI-automated food pantry models of its kind. The point was never the technology. The point is that a small team can spend less time on paperwork and more time serving people, with dignity, at no cost and no judgment. As Pastor Doug put it, "The story is making sure people can get the help they need."

Thank You, Greater Cabarrus Foundation

We're thankful to the Greater Cabarrus Foundation for telling this story so generously. As Pastor Doug says, Cabarrus County "was the first place where, when you reached out, the community reached back." We'd encourage our neighbors to read the full feature on Pastor Doug and to learn more about the Greater Cabarrus Foundation and the work they do across our county. To see more of our ministry, visit Solo Faith Church at solofaith.org.

Solo Faith Church — based at 587 Old Charlotte Rd SW in Concord — shares this feature because food access, delivered with dignity to neighbors who can't reach a pantry, sits at the heart of what Christ calls us to do in Cabarrus County. When the wider community tells these stories, more homebound seniors, veterans, and families learn that help is only a request away.

Sponsor a Delivery — Put Food on a Neighbor's Doorstep

Every sponsored delivery puts groceries and hygiene items on the doorstep of a Concord household facing a transportation barrier — free, with no paperwork and no judgment. Your gift helps Solo Faith Church reach more seniors, veterans, and neighbors with disabilities across Cabarrus County. Learn more here.

Community Support Note: This post highlights a feature article published by the Greater Cabarrus Foundation about Solo Faith Church and Pastor Doug Lattimore. Quotes and details were responsibly compiled from that publicly available story to share it with our congregation and the wider Concord community.