SPARTA, Ga. — Since the grocery store is really one of the only places we can go these days, most of us have made a trip or two. But some of us aren't as fortunate, and that's where one Hancock County church is stepping in.
Apostolic Fatih Kingdom Life Fellowship Ministries in Sparta has had an operational food pantry for more than two years. Church members run it biweekly on Saturdays and Sundays and during emergencies.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the church felt it was an emergency, so they adjusted the magnitude of their pantry.
The church started doing drive-thru boxed food and supplies giveaways. They even had toilet paper to give out. All volunteers maintained social distance and proper sanitation.
At their last giveaway, the church's pastor, Lillie Reid Tripp, says they handed out more than a hundred boxes of food.
Tripp says the giveaway is important, because there's a lot of poverty in her rural community, so the food is needed.
"We have a situation where they're running out of food, and the people who get food stamps, the prices in the local store are so high that the food stamps don't go far enough to cover them during the month, so I can only imagine a lot of these kids are going without food, and a lot of these adults who are disabled are running out food before the month is out, so it's really, really sad," Tripp said.
Tripp says many elderly members in the community also don't have transportation, so she is looking for volunteers to help deliver boxes of food to certain neighborhoods.
Their next food drive is Friday from 10 a.m. to noon at 67 Apolistic Lane in the Springfield Community in Sparta.
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