We’re lucky to have them, the nonprofits and ministries that work to feed our hungry neighbors in times that always seem to be tough. We’ve seen the grateful looks of parents with kids, receiving a box of food staples at distribution events. We’ve seen the anxious eyes of seniors receiving needed boxes of food to sustain them in their fading years.
All those volunteers, those groups and churches that do what most of us wish churches would do more of, are doing wonderful things, vital things, helping those who need it to survive.
PNJ photographer Tony Giberson and I have seen a few of these food distribution events in our years, but when we walked out of Northwest Florida Community Outreach’s food distribution setup on North Davis Highway on Tuesday, we looked at each other and said the same thing.
“That was really cool.”
Tuesday was Northwest Florida’s Community Outreach’s “Harvest of Hope” food pantry’s weekly “Supporting Our Seniors” food distribution. Seniors visiting the NFCO headquarters, where a former Baptist church was located years ago. The complex has various rooms and buildings and at the rear of the complex there’s a line of empty parking spots awaiting visits from senior citizens who often have their caretakers, family members and friends to assist them. Yes, they get an awesome box of food staples − canned goods, packaged foods, rice, some snacks and more.
But they also get to go inside the “Harvest of Hope” food pantry, stocked with various coolers and freezers where the seniors or their caregivers can grab one of a handful of shopping carts and go through the various stations.
There are areas with frozen meats, frozen veggies, milk and milk alternatives, frozen treats (including Ben & Jerry’s), refrigerated items, a deli, a bread station, areas for dried goods including cereals, coffee, tea, vegetables, non-food items such as pet supplies, including food (so non-human food), cat litter and more. There was even a small section with an assortment of shoes up for grabs, tags still on them.
There were Pop Tarts and Lucky Charms, and even a few King Cakes available for the seniors to choose, with limits on various items − four deli items, one pack of bacon, two coffees/teas, etc. For seniors who don’t or can’t get out much, the Tuesday scheduled visits gives them a chance to pick out things they actually enjoy and maybe even crave.
Northwest Florida Community Outreach is the ministry and outreach arm of non-denominational Living Word Holy Church on Broad Street in Ensley. The church is almost 35 years old while NFCR was created in 2002.
“We do give them the boxes with all the staples,” said Brenda K. Beasley, church pastor whose husband Samuel Beasley founded the church, which has about 125 members today. “But some of them might not eat everything we give them. You know, they’re saying ‘I’m 80 years old now and I want some of my wants. When you see their faces, they truly enjoy the experience.”
The Harvest of Hope food pantry doesn’t only administer to senior citizens. There are other programs for food distribution the organization runs for the general public facing food insecurity issues.
But the Supporting Our Seniors program might be the one that Beasley, 71, is most proud of.
“Since I’ve become a senior, I’ve seen the struggle,” she said. “When my parents became elderly, I saw their struggle.”
The Northwest Florida Community Outreach programs are by application or agency referral, and currently there are about 75 seniors on the organization’s Supporting Our Seniors roster with a waiting list of names behind them.
Senior times are scheduled for each Tuesday, with about 17 or so seniors scheduled for a particular week of the month so that by the end of the month all the seniors get a chance to participate in the free program. Each Tuesday distribution is broken down into three or four various shifts, so than only a handful of seniors are being served at a time, to keep down commotion and allow the seniors to “shop” in safety. If they don’t have a caretaker, family member or friend with them, a Harvest of Hope volunteer will assist. All boxes and selections are delivered to the waiting cars by volunteers.
“Instead of just driving through and picking up a box, they can come in and get a shopping cart and choose the rest of their items,” said Christeia Hawkins, Northwest Florida Community Outreach director and a Living Word Holy Church member. “It’s set up like a grocery store and they get to shop for the rest of their items.”
Much of the food provided to Northwest Florida Community Outreach comes from the non-profit Feeding the Gulf Coast organization, which partners with various churches and groups such as Northwest Florida Community Outreach to get food to a needy public. Food is also provided by various local retail markets.
“We have food pickups so we’re unloading and then someone has to sort everything, throw out any bad stuff,” Beasley said. “Someone has to keep up with the dates and rotate items and there’s just a lot of work. Truly, a lot of work.”
There was a team of about 10 volunteers and staff members on hand, some filling the staple boxes, others to check in visitors, others to keep coolers, freezers and bins stocked, others who would be helping visitors upon arrival. There is a similar Northwest Florida Community Outreach pantry in Century for folks in the north part of Escambia County and upper Santa Rose County.
Before the first Tuesday visitor, Beasley gathered her staff and volunteers together for prayer.
Minutes later, an elderly woman, accompanied by a daughter, entered the pantry, a smile across her face, her eyes wide. She pushed her buggy slowly, first stopping at the Bread & Pastries section to pick a few breads and treats before moving on to canned goods, and then some fresh produce which she looked over.
She took her time, she and her daughter, without the threat of quick-moving shoppers and crowded aisles found at most major grocery outlets. It can be madness sometimes, right?
Senior citizen Lavette Smith was one of those who had a morning appointment at the pantry, but she is feeding more than herself. Her daughter and eight grandchildren live with her. That’s 10 mouths to feed, including hers.
“It’s hard and I’m retired but still having to take care of them,” Smith said. “My daughter is working 16 hours a week (fast food) and it’s not enough. If it wasn’t for these people, I don’t know how we would do it.”
She came to pick up some sweets for the kids, cereal, some vegetables and canned good, and “to check out their meats. It’s just a wonderful thing they do here.”
Beasley said none of the seniors are Living Word Holy Church members.
“They know if they need something,” she said, “then they can just call me.”
Still, the church ministry has to work to get by and recently started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for an additional storage area to hold all the donated items the group receives.
“Come with me,” Beasley said, leading us to another area of Northwest Florida Community Outreach − Harvest Home, where household items and so much more were stored for approved applicants and referrals.
There were shelves of microwave ovens, shelves of diapers; there were medical items including a handful of blood pressure monitors, couches and other furniture items. There were crock pots and coffee pots upon coffee pots, steam cleaners for the floor, bug repellant, yard trimmers, a tent, sleeping bag and on and on and on.
“We never know what we’re going to get,” Beasley said. “But we’re happy to get it.”
For more information on Northwest Florida Community Outreach, including ways to volunteer and donate, go to www.nwfco.info or the group’s Facebook page.
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