Leo's Lunch Box (Were in This Together)

A powerful modern-day story about sharing what you have, based on the biblical Feeding of the Five Thousand, by Reverend Senator Raphael Warnock.

It’s lunchtime at school, and Leo knows exactly what he’s going to have: a baloney sandwich. His mom does the best she can, but sometimes Leo wishes they could afford more than baloney sandwiches. Then one day, the unexpected happens: His mom gets a new job and buys him a lunch box at a yard sale. Suddenly, he’s got something other than a baloney sandwich! Even more amazing, Leo’s delicious lunch begins to multiply, and the more he shares, the more he receives.

A powerful modern-day story about sharing what you have, based on the biblical story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand, Reverend Senator Raphael Warnock’s tale of empathy, community, and caring for others comes to life with TeMika Grooms’s warm illustrations in the first book in his We’re in This Together series.

Raphael G. Warnock was elected the first Black senator from Georgia in 2021. He also serves as the senior pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta. Reverend Senator Warnock is a graduate of Morehouse College and Union Theological Seminary. As a pastor serving in the Senate, his work focuses on building “the beloved community.” He is the eleventh of twelve siblings and has two children, Chloe and Caleb. He is the author of Put Your Shoes On & Get Ready!, illustrated by TeMika Grooms, and A Way Out of No Way: A Memoir of Truth, Transformation, and the New American Story. You can visit Raphael G. Warnock at WarnockForGeorgia.com or follow him on Instagram and X @RaphaelWarnock and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SenatorWarnock.

TeMika Grooms is an Atlanta-based artist and art activist who illustrated Put Your Shoes On & Get Ready! by Raphael G. Warnock, Save the Crash-test Dummies by Jennifer Swanson, and Nana’s Favorite Things by Dorothy H. Price. She is the founder and program coordinator for KidsLitATL, a grassroots organization to support a diverse group of creators in Atlanta, Georgia, where she lives with her cat, Nina Simone, and her two daughters, who she affectionately calls Thing One and Thing Two. You can visit TeMika Grooms at TeMikaTheArtist.com or follow her on Instagram and X @TeMikaTheArtist.