Church food pantry helping hundreds of East Point residents
Program sees rise in demand during coronavirus pandemic; other efforts assisting students and seniors
With two rows of cars lined up, dozens of volunteers standing by and hundreds of bags of food packed, the Pantry at Chapelhill Church’s campus in East Point on Saturday was buzzing. This was the first time it opened during the coronavirus pandemic.
So the monthly event – held for two hours on the fourth Saturday – was seeing a nearly 20 percent increase in people picking up food donations, according to Campus Pastor Jamal Baker (photo).
“People are very grateful,” Baker said Saturday as he helped load vehicles with bags of produce, dry goods, milk, meat and other essentials.
“We are just looking for ways to ease the burden in the community. Everybody is under stress. It is unprecedented times for everyone. Everyone is in a situation they’ve never had to face before. Whatever we can do to help with that, food is one of those ways,” he added.
The church has operated the Pantry for about two years, providing logistical experience that helped prepare it for the coronavirus pandemic. Arriving cars were directed to two lanes – three earlier in the morning – that stretched across the parking lot as volunteers worked with drivers to complete intake paperwork.
One by one, the vehicles were directed to the south end of the campus where a covered drop off area served as a makeshift drive-through. As each vehicle stopped, volunteers loaded it with bags of food pulled from pallets, tables and carts. The process lasted just a few minutes per vehicle.
Volunteers for the monthly effort are a mix of churchgoers, community members and former clients of the Pantry, Baker said.
“We love when people have received and they want to participate and give back,” he said.
The Pantry has helped 550 to 600 people per month in January and February, a number that Baker said he expects to rise as the pandemic continues. Church officials are already in talks with the Atlanta Food Bank to add more days to the food giveaways.
The Pantry buys food in bulk from the Atlanta Food Bank with donations from church members and programs, and combines it with food donations from other organizations and food the church buys on its own, Baker said.
“We are already in talks about how can we expand that – how we might be able to do even more things,” he said.
During spring break for Fulton County Schools, which lasts for a week starting April 6, the church will distribute food to students since school campuses already providing assistance during the pandemic will be closed.
“I have five kids myself so I know what it’s like to have to house kids at home all day every day and the burden that can put on food supplies. We see it as a very legitimate need,” Baker said.
Several of the people that received food on Saturday were first-time clients of the Pantry, Baker said. The church promotes the food giveaway in nearby apartment complexes, on its website and social media channels and gets a boost from the City of East Point, which has highlighted the event and other food support programs. Some clients just spotted the signs for the event as they exited I-285 onto Washington Road where the campus sits.
Food support programs helping students, seniors
The effort is one of several providing support to East Point residents during the coronavirus pandemic.
Fulton’s Department of Senior Services provides meals to seniors at the H.J.C. Bowden Center on weekdays; Fulton Schools provides meals to students at Asa Hilliard Elementary School, Brookview Elementary School, Hamilton Holmes Elementary School and Tri-Cities High School on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and the Ward B Councilmembers United Community Food Bank provides assistance on Thursdays at New Grant Chapel AME Church.
On March 23, staff members from East Point’s Department of Parks & Recreation worked with Council member Karen René to deliver food to 50 families.
Council member Lance Robertson and Gilliam’s Community Garden are also providing fresh vegetables to city residents in need. Robertson and the organization are raising $1,000 to fund vegetables for seniors.
Do you know of other food support efforts in East Point? What about other programs helping East Point residents during the coronavirus pandemic? Add a comment to this post and let me know.