EAL Fall 2023

When Martha Henk was growing
up in the Congo with
her missionary parents, she
developed a heart of caring at an early age,
seeing children with enlarged stomachs
and hair turned red from lack of nutrition.
At the time, she never dreamed the compassion
she felt would one day be a calling.
Since 1995, Martha has served as the
executive director of the Food Bank of East
Alabama as it has expanded from serving
several thousand to 57,200 individuals in
food-insecure households, with 16,480 of
those being children.
Martha’s parents, Wally and Ruth Henk,
were missionaries in the Congo for 17 years
and were the biggest influence on her life.
She grew up watching her parents’ commitment
to helping people in need.
While childhood was filled with unusual
experiences as her family traveled throughout
Africa, at times her family faced danger.
Bands of soldiers would take over the
mission station and hold them at gunpoint.
Soldiers ransacked their home and would
take what they wanted.
When Martha was 16 years old, she and
her family were evacuated from the Congo
under gunfire. Snipers at the airport fired
at them as they waited for the United
Nations plane. They moved from Africa
to Minnesota where her father served as a
minister.
Photos courtesy of FoodBank
After Martha married, she lived in
Delaware a few years where her three
children were born. Her family moved to
Auburn in 1982, with her parents and sister
soon following.
Martha had worked five years with the
Presbyterian Community Ministries when
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