Thanks to the efforts of local volunteers and organizations, 20,000 pounds of food will be delivered Saturday to Grady Street Park and distributed to hundreds of Statesboro families in need.
The Mobile Food Pantry is sponsored by Hands on Ogeechee, along with the Statesboro Food Bank and America’s Second Harvest. Saturday is also Community Build Day — a national day of service sponsored by the Financial Services Roundtable, which is a collection of people in the insurance, banking and investment industries that encourages its members to get out and volunteer in their communities.
Hands on Ogeechee Director Jeremy Foreman is always looking for more volunteers and said the mobile food bank event is a great way to get involved.
“It provides a great opportunity to learn more about your community,” said Foreman.
The pantry itself will be held on the property of the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, directly adjacent to Grady Street Park. Trucks arrive around 10 a.m., at which time volunteers will unload the truck and separate the goods onto pallets. Then paper bags will be filled with groceries until each bag holds a number of nutritionally complete meals.
At noon, volunteers will hand out the bags to low-income families and senior citizens in need.
According to Joe Bill Brannon from the Statesboro Food Bank, about 550 families and 1,700 individuals were served during the mobile food pantry in May.
“This is a big help for local families,” said Brannon. “We’re extremely proud of that.”
In order to obtain the donated food, interested parties will fill out a short form to see if they meet criteria. To qualify, families must have a certain income level, which varies depending upon the amount of adults, children and seniors living full-time in the household.
“Basically, anyone who qualifies for USDA or SNAP (Georgia’s State Nutritional Assistance Program) assistance also qualifies to obtain groceries,” said Brannon.
Members from the Agape Worship Center also will be at Grady Street Park Saturday, giving away free school supplies to children in need and handing out donated clothing with Claudia’s Closet.
The Bulloch County Sheriff’s Department, the American Diabetes Association, the Bulloch County school board and other local organizations will be at the park to provide services or give out information. There will also be a moon-bounce, water slide and cartoon characters for the kids.
Both Foreman and Brannon said they hope to hold these food drives more often, possibly once a month.
“We’ll hold one as often as it can be funded, whether we write a grant or seek community-based funding,” said Foreman. “It takes about $2,500 to pay for the delivery of food. We encourage other companies to join in and sponsor another event.”
Anyone interested in sponsoring a mobile food pantry or simply donating what they are able can contact Foreman at (912)481-6971 or by email at donate@handsonogeechee.net. The number for the Statesboro Food Bank is (912) 489-FOOD (3663).
The Mobile Food Pantry is sponsored by Hands on Ogeechee, along with the Statesboro Food Bank and America’s Second Harvest. Saturday is also Community Build Day — a national day of service sponsored by the Financial Services Roundtable, which is a collection of people in the insurance, banking and investment industries that encourages its members to get out and volunteer in their communities.
Hands on Ogeechee Director Jeremy Foreman is always looking for more volunteers and said the mobile food bank event is a great way to get involved.
“It provides a great opportunity to learn more about your community,” said Foreman.
The pantry itself will be held on the property of the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, directly adjacent to Grady Street Park. Trucks arrive around 10 a.m., at which time volunteers will unload the truck and separate the goods onto pallets. Then paper bags will be filled with groceries until each bag holds a number of nutritionally complete meals.
At noon, volunteers will hand out the bags to low-income families and senior citizens in need.
According to Joe Bill Brannon from the Statesboro Food Bank, about 550 families and 1,700 individuals were served during the mobile food pantry in May.
“This is a big help for local families,” said Brannon. “We’re extremely proud of that.”
In order to obtain the donated food, interested parties will fill out a short form to see if they meet criteria. To qualify, families must have a certain income level, which varies depending upon the amount of adults, children and seniors living full-time in the household.
“Basically, anyone who qualifies for USDA or SNAP (Georgia’s State Nutritional Assistance Program) assistance also qualifies to obtain groceries,” said Brannon.
Members from the Agape Worship Center also will be at Grady Street Park Saturday, giving away free school supplies to children in need and handing out donated clothing with Claudia’s Closet.
The Bulloch County Sheriff’s Department, the American Diabetes Association, the Bulloch County school board and other local organizations will be at the park to provide services or give out information. There will also be a moon-bounce, water slide and cartoon characters for the kids.
Both Foreman and Brannon said they hope to hold these food drives more often, possibly once a month.
“We’ll hold one as often as it can be funded, whether we write a grant or seek community-based funding,” said Foreman. “It takes about $2,500 to pay for the delivery of food. We encourage other companies to join in and sponsor another event.”
Anyone interested in sponsoring a mobile food pantry or simply donating what they are able can contact Foreman at (912)481-6971 or by email at donate@handsonogeechee.net. The number for the Statesboro Food Bank is (912) 489-FOOD (3663).