By Donna Thornton/News Editor
Christ Central United Methodist Church in Rainbow City has operated a food pantry for about four years – collecting food and making it available to those in need.
Through the food pantry, church volunteers are well aware of the “huge ongoing need” for assistance in the community. That led to the church’s most recent effort to meet those needs – collecting food, clothes and toys to give to families in need for the holiday season.
On Tuesday (Nov. 4), volunteers worked packing bags with groceries, hanging clothes and sorting toys which were given away Wednesday, Kim Cason said.
There was a small group of volunteers working Tuesday: Anne Butler, Roy and Martha Beason, Betty Sue Owens, and church employees Cason and Kay Ward.
Other volunteers had been working on the project at other times, including Donna Amigh, Janice Petrucci, Barb DeJong, Carolyn Jenson and Susan and John Minton.
But all the volunteers were anxious to share credit for the shared task. The entire congregation collected food and other items – some working together as Sunday school classes, and some give donations as memorials.
“This is a loving church,” Martha Beason said.
It took many donations of goods and monetary gifts to assemble a happier Christmas for 75 families. The volunteers spent $800 on hams alone.
Families will receive “a wonderful supply of foods,” Butler said.