|
Published: Aug 27, 2008 - 02:28:39 pm CDT
Need continues to grow at county food pantry n Gas takes a toll on those in need; timing change produces challenges. By Debra Kelly Monitor-Herald Our Daily Bread Food Pantry was started in 2000 to assist those living in Calhoun County. It is a non-profit organization and a member of the Mississippi Food Network/America’s Second Harvest. Between 180 to 225 families are helped each month. While it is impossible to tell precisely how the recent high gas prices have increased the need for this assistance, Vonda Keon, coordinator said recently, “We are seeing more people not driving in but getting someone else to pick up the box for them, due to high gas prices. Several pick up seven to 12 boxes for different people.” St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church, Bruce United Methodist Church, Lewis Memorial Methodist Church, Calhoun City, Vardaman Methodist Church and the rest of the Calhoun County Methodist Cluster are among those that volunteer their time at the food pantry. “This not a government entitlement program. The food pantry is strictly volunteer, we are not paid, we are just concerned people from different churches trying to do what the Lord has led us to do, which is to help one another in need,” Keon said. Through the years, Keon and her volunteers have worked out a system to make the distribution of the boxes quicker and less disruptive to neighborhood residents and businesses than it was in past years. Since participants line up in the Bollinger Family Theater’s parking lot to sign in and receive their paperwork to pick up the food, it has become necessary to change the pick up time to 10 a.m. “We are having to give the boxes out earlier due to the fact that the Bollinger Family Theater’s fall and winter show schedule has started. It is imperative that the people waiting in line for the food get there at 9 and line up neatly in rows of 10 or 12. Arrive at 9, we start the line moving at 10, and we will be finished at 11,” stressed Keon. There was an unfortunate incident recently that has caused some concerns. “Several of the cars did not cooperate and the drivers were extremely rude” when asked to move, Keon said. “The Bollingers have been so gracious to allow us to borrow their parking lot so we can queue the cars up prior to the distribution time, that for someone to speak and act rudely is not something that we take lightly. “Without the use of the eastern portion of the Bollinger parking lot, there will be no food distribution,” she said. Our Daily Bread Food Pantry always appreciates all donations and welcomes all volunteers. Donation boxes are being set up throughout the county. Food distribution is the fourth Saturday of each month, with packaging of the boxes the Thursday before at 5:30. The food pantry had two very special volunteers helping this month. Ji Eun Ahn, Seoul South Korea, and Ping Lo, Taiwan, helped with packing the boxes on Thursday and with distribution on Saturday. Both are exchange students in Bruce High School this year. Ji Eun is a sophomore and Ping Lo is a senior.
|
