Once or twice, he said, he has taken a meal himself, but mostly, he said he leaves them for people he thinks need them more.

“Sometimes she’s got her kids with her; sometimes she’s got little kids with her, but she’s here every day. That’s what she does. She feeds the people.”

Stepping up

Griffin, 51, lives about eight blocks away and said she became worried when she read about the closing of First Step Services, which provided shelter and support to homeless people with drug, alcohol or mental health issues.

She said she decided to start cooking meals and making daily deliveries in late May or early June.

“God just gave me that vision, and I just walked out on faith and went out on faith,” she said. “They were hungry. And God said, ‘If they are hungry, feed them.’”

Griffin has rheumatoid arthritis and lives on Social Security disability. She uses her own money to pay for the food, her kids chipping in to help pay for supplies.

Her children — she has eight kids and 19 grandchildren — take turns picking her up, helping her cook and helping her deliver the meals.