28 Feb Meals With A Purpose: The Beatty Family’s Story

When the Beatty family first started participating in Rice & Beans Month five years ago, there was only one kid in the mix, and he was a bit too young to help much in the kitchen. With the addition of their daughter, the Beattys are now a family of four, and Rice & Beans Month has become a family tradition. Last year, they moved to a small farm with their close friends, the Brians, and the two families live in community. With four adults and three children in the mix, the Beattys and Brians will be sharing meals of rice and beans around a full table this year!

In addition to the global impact of Rice & Beans Month, the Beattys are also helping to make an impact in their local community. Their church in Corvallis serves a Wednesday night meal year-round called “Let’s Eat.” As the Community Life Pastor, Garrett Beatty oversees “Let’s Eat” with the vision of meeting the needs of local neighbors who might not come on a Sunday, yet could use a bit of help stretching tight food budgets, or simply don’t want to eat alone.

So between home and church, the Beatty family’s dinners will be seasoned with a lot of purpose and compassion this March! As the oldest kid of the bunch, Asher is now a Rice & Beans veteran. Although he admits that “sometimes it gets old,” he definitely understands the reasons behind his family’s choice to eat simple meals on behalf of others. “I want other people to have good food like I have,” he says, and he really likes the devotionals and prayer times they have together as a family.

And as you can see in these photos from the Beatty-Brian kitchen, the kids are now old enough to help out a bit! They recently tried a new recipe together that was a hit with everyone. Crispy Herbed Chickpeas Over Rice is posted on our recipe page if you’d like to give it a try at your house!