St. Joseph Island couple on mission to feed hungry in Dominican Republic

Sault and Algoma District residents are known for their charitable spirit and good deeds.

Jake Stubbe and wife Shawna-Lee Stubbe — evangelical Christians who live near Richards Landing on St. Joseph Island — are on a mission to raise money to buy food for needy people in the Dominican Republic.

Their mission traces its roots to a visit by Jake to the Caribbean nation in 2017 when he became aware of a new church building that needed a roof.

“That’s very common in the Caribbean. They get the walls up and then they just can’t get the roofers. It’s too expensive,” Jake said in a phone interview with SooToday.

“In May of 2017, I went to our church’s mission committee and asked if they would be able to help raise money for the roof. In December 2017 Raise the Roof was launched in our church and in January 2018 we had the money raised for the roof. The money came in four and a half weeks.”

After installing a roof on a second Dominican Republic church in 2020, the couple saw a second great need among the island nation’s people.

“Often on mission trips I had left cash in the Dominican Republic for food for the needy. Feeding the hungry was way more important to them than church roofs,” Jake said.

“We came back to Canada right into COVID restrictions. The Dominican Republic was locked down with people unable to work and feed themselves. That was a very tough situation for the people in the Dominican Republic. They don’t store food ahead because it’s too hot to store food. They often find work daily to buy food. In March of 2020 I felt that the Lord wanted me to send some money to the Dominican Republic for food. I sent the money as God asked.”

As a result, in January 2022 a second Stubbe charity known as Food For Life and Hope was born.

Raise the Roof and Food for Life and Hope are non-profits launched by the Stubbes, the couple serving as board members for both groups.

The two are St. Joseph Island Free Methodist Church members. Its congregation, along with that of Hillside Free Methodist Church in Sault Ste. Marie, have been big financial supporters of Raise the Roof and Food for Life and Hope.

Funds raised by the two Methodist churches and given to both charities are then sent to church partners in the Dominican Republic.

“We send money to Food for Life and Hope to purchase food and they distribute it in the Dominican. They’ll buy a skid of rice, for example, package it and distribute it to families,” Jake said.

“We’ve become quite a team together for our Christian mission work in the Dominican. We support eight pastors and feed children in their churches. We support approximately 100 people,” Shawna-Lee said.

The couple believes that food is a critical first step in order to receive "spiritual food."

“The brain doesn’t function without food," Shawna-Lee said. "People can’t receive the Word of God unless their brains are on. If you’re not fed physically you’re not in a position to even hear of hope. You’re hungry. In order to bring hope to the people of this world their heads have to be on straight and your head’s not on straight when your belly’s not full.”

Jake is self-employed and installs home heating and air conditioner units. Shawna-Lee is a part-time educational assistant.

Though committed to their secular employment, the couple is especially passionate about their work in the Dominican Republic. 

“The Lord clearly commands that we take care of the widows, the fatherless, feed the hungry, dress the poor. We are to give. Not give to get,” Jake said.

More information about Food For Life and Hope is available on the charity’s website.