Martha Jane Gates: Decades of fighting hunger, poverty and homelessness

Editor’s note: As the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis celebrates its 175th anniversary this year, Catholic historian Reba Luiken will devote her columns to stories of women — some well-known and others less so — who have impacted its history. The following column addresses the influence of Martha Jane Gates.

By 1970, St. Joseph parish in Plymouth had outgrown its pioneer church and purchased land nearby in New Hope. It took two years for a new church to be built. In the meantime, Father Blane Barr saw social ministry as an essential part of parish ministry. He put his vision into practice by hiring Martha Jane Gates to open the Social Action Center in the house on the property. Better known as Marty, she was a committed community activist with over a decade of experience running a teen center.

At St. Joseph parish, Gates started by building a local food shelf and becoming a leader of a network of food shelves in Hennepin County. The 1970s were a challenging economic time for many. Some who were early donors to the project lost their jobs in the weak economy and had to return to the food shelf as customers. In 1975, more than twice as many people visited food shelves in the county as the year before. Others looked to the Social Action Center for help paying their heating bills. Gates helped to administer the local fuel-aid program in 1979. Gates was constantly in need of supplies and funding, but she was also well-networked with other governmental and church groups working to serve the poor.

Gates was a social worker, and her ministry grew to encompass most aspects of human wellbeing. In addition to food, she gathered clothes and other household goods to distribute. Around Christmas time, she was known to be a matchmaker. A local newspaper columnist reached out to Gates to help someone get a pair of artificial Christmas trees to two families in need. She collected Christmas presents, too. All year long, the center hosted health clinics to screen for cancer and test blood pressure. It started study groups on the underlying causes of hunger and a support group for people who were divorced or separated. Hundreds of volunteers at the center worked to minister to residents of the northwest metro with dignity.

The Social Action Center developed a local reputation and a hefty budget. The parish at St. Joseph had almost doubled in size in 10 years and more than 97% of parishioners supported the program’s mission.

However, by the 1980s, paying three full-time staff members was becoming more than in-house collections and an annual community craft fair could support. Fortunately, other local Christian churches had taken notice and were ready to get involved in supporting the ministry. Sixteen local churches, led by the pastor of Valley of Peace Lutheran Church, came together around feeding the hungry and clothing the naked to start a nonprofit called People Responding in Social Ministry (PRISM) that would continue and expand the work of the center. PRISM moved out of St. Joseph’s ministry center in 1987 and remains a thriving nonprofit in Golden Valley helping connect families in the northwest metro to food, housing, clothing and more.

Gates coordinated The Emergency Food Assistance Program for the state of Minnesota throughout the 1990s. She was also known for her work on boards and committees advocating for health care, human services and fair utility rates. She died on March 25, 2010, after decades of fighting hunger, poverty and homelessness.

Luiken is a Catholic and a historian with a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She loves exploring and sharing the hidden histories that touch our lives every day.