DOTHAN, Ala. – The Geneva County Community Church Mobile Food Pantry is celebrating its one year anniversary. The nonprofit began its mission on April 14, 2020.
Over the last year volunteers from around Geneva County have worked to help feed those in need, especially after a difficult year with the pandemic.
Every second Tuesday of the month almost 50 volunteers spend their morning at the Geneva County Farm Center packing bags and boxes of food.
“We are just feeding Geneva County, God told us to do it, told us to feed His sheep and that’s what we’re doing,” Robert Michaels, Director of The Geneva County Church Food Pantry, said.
The Geneva County Community Church Mobile Food Pantry began serving 200 to doubling and serving 400. They say they are still growing as they work alongside the Coffee County Community Church Mobile Food Pantry.
“We still have newcomers that say they haven’t heard about it yet,” James Shiver, Assistant Director of Geneva County Food Pantry, said.
2020 was a challenging year for everyone due to COVID-19. The groups lost some members along the way due to COVID-19.
“In coffee county we lost one of our good workers, Ben Moates, he used to be the Sheriff of Coffee County, he was there every month and I would like to remember him and his family because he was so faithful,” BJ Caldwell, Director of the Coffee County Community Church Mobile Food Pantry, said.
“We had a couple of ladies from Samson and we lost them with COVID and when you’re working beside somebody its different, if you have it in your own family,” Shiver said.
Their mission, continued.
“We’ve never run out of food and we have always had food for everybody,” Michaels said.
On Tuesday volunteers handed out over 16,000 pounds of food, most of which is provided by the Wiregrass Area Food Bank.
Geneva County Food pantry giveaways are every second Tuesday of the month at 9:00 a.m and Coffee County pantry giveaways are every last Tuesday of the month.
Both Geneva County and Coffee County food pantries take bag and monetary donations. To make a donation for the Geneva County pantry you can go to any of the Friend Banks in Geneva, Hartford or Slocomb or mail a check to Mims Hill Church. To make a donation to the Coffee County pantry you can go to any of the Coffee County Baptist Associations.
