Our Story - turning pain into servanthood.

"I didn't know how to deal with the pain that came from losing my father in Feb 2011; by the end of that year, I was at a complete loss - emotionally and spiritually. The only thing I knew to do was to enter into someone else's pain and ignore my own, so I signed up to be a volunteer to help those affected by Hurricane Isaac" - Mary Cross.

By volunteering with a disaster relief organization for over a decade, across the southern portion of the United States, Josh & Mary Cross brought that passion to their hometown in 2019.  Formed with the intention of providing immediate disaster relief supplies to our community – we quickly grew into so much more with the COVID-19 Pandemic in March 2020. It was through this “new” disaster that the senior/veteran food pantry was birthed; starting with 20 households, we currently serve 415 senior/veteran households on a monthly basis. Continuing on with the challenges of 2020, i.e. 2 major hurricanes and 3 tropical storms, we were able to provide disaster relief supplies and hot meals throughout the course of 2 ½ months – servings over 35,000 residents from Beauregard to Cameron Parish. Needless to say, 2020 brought about a pace for New Step that has continued to this day.