WILMINGTON, N.C. — First Fruit Ministries has been housing human trafficking victims since 2000.


What You Need To Know

  • First Fruit Ministries was founded in 2000 
  • It takes in human trafficking victims
  • Wilmington is hot spot due to its port

According to North Carolina Stop Human Trafficking, North Carolina ranks ninth in the nation for human trafficking cases.

Lee Anna Stoker started First Fruit Ministries with her husband. She’s also started an herb garden they use to feed on-campus residents. 

“Out on the streets I just saw people suffering. I saw them in need. They were hurting. And I just can't see how much you're hurting and not do something about it,” Stoker said. 

In 2022, the state Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program received 18,873 cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a 48% increase from the previous year and a 383% increase since 2019.

At First Fruit Ministries volunteers put in over 9,847 hours serving meals, helping in the food pantry and mentoring residents in 2022. 

“A lot of the trafficking that takes place is not only sex trafficking, which can be more prevalent here, but we also have a lot of farm communities where you can find labor trafficking. Obviously, labor trafficking happens in a lot of industries, but particularly in our area we see that,” Stoker said. 

Wilmington is an especially trafficked area because of its port. 

“A lot of the trafficking that we see just as an agency, we will see girls worked from Wilmington to Jacksonville to Fayetteville to Myrtle Beach and back, because you always have to have a new products on the market,” Stoker said. 

The biggest change in the trafficking industry is where it takes place. When First Fruit Ministries began, the trafficking industry was street-based, but now it is online. That hasn’t stopped the Stokers and their ministry. 

“We work with the FBI, Homeland Security and multiple police forces in the region to be a partner, to provide services,” Stoker said. 

Stoker doesn’t just help trafficking victims but also anyone who is unhoused. 

“At our core, we do outreach in support of housing. We do a massive amount of street outreach. We will make meals for over 100 people that will serve in the woods and on the sidewalks, under the bridges. We go out six, seven days a week,” Stoker said. 

In the 25 years that the ministry has existed they have encountered every type of situation and learned from it. 

“One of the things that happens when you've done this for a long time is you've made all the mistakes. You failed at all the things, and you've learned, and you can't let those things set you back. And so every time that you encounter something, a problem that needs to be solved, the solution makes you better. And so we feel like the quality of what we do is excellent. We do things with care, and every little element has been considered,” Stoker said. 

The First Fruit Ministry is planning on expanding to help accommodate more trafficking victims as well as help unsheltered individuals along the coast. 

The national hotline for human trafficking is 1-888-373-7888 or text “HELP” to 233733.