Taking care of our neighbors
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In My Humble Opinion
Jodi McDade
Last week in my column I talked some about MANNA of Rockford Baptist Church and the services it provides for Coosa County residents who are struggling to meet the food needs of their families.
It is a stand-alone group within Rockford Baptist Church formed by some of their members and approved to use their facilities. It was formed as an offshoot of the monthly Community Dinner that Rockford Baptist originally started to provide a free meal and fellowship to people in the area. Those dinners are still being held on the second Tuesday of every month from 4-7 p.m. The church itself does not provide financing for MANNA Ministries, but it does provide oversight via a committee that reports to the membership.
This effort actually started back in the days of COVID-19 when people could not gather for the dinners. They were also unable to work because of businesses closing, schools were being closed so children were not able to get the meals they were accustomed to, and many people were experiencing illness. Since public food drops were not permitted during those times, the first step was to put blessing boxes in the communities around the county. The original donation of funds for this was $100 and the construction of the first box.
The main program itself was put on hold like many other things at that time, but the plans continued. Contacts were made with the Food Bank in Montgomery, and MANNA Ministries learned what services it could provide to them, like the cost of food, the minimum amounts that could be purchased and what requirements would need to be met.
It was determined that the cost of food goods would be $.18 per pound. With only minimum donations of funding at that time, orders could only be made for a few hundred pounds at a time, but it was a start.
After working with the food bank for a short time, MANNA Ministries found out that there were also types of food – bakery items, paper goods, fresh produce/vegetables – that could be picked up at no cost on a first come, first serve basis while picking up the ordered items. This meant that the money spent could be stretched much further than anticipated! So MANNA Ministries started placing orders for canned goods, dry goods and frozen meats to build a supply of food to be available. At the time, MANNA Ministries had been donated one large chest freezer and was using a storage room inside Rockford Baptist Church.
But unknown to the volunteers involved, God had much larger plans in the making. Because Coosa County is designated as a “food desert,” the Food Bank in Montgomery said there were some grants through the Feeding America group that would help with funding and equipment. MANNA Ministries applied and was approved for two grants totaling $72,000 to purchase commercial refrigerators and freezers, carts, fuel to travel to and from Montgomery, computers to manage the paperwork, generators for emergencies, a trailer to transport food, and many other things.
With these funds MANNA Ministries was also able to rent space in the Masonic Lodge next door, plus, thanks to Madix, grocery store type shelving throughout the building.
The first “food drop” served more than 100 people/families. That one also provided clothing and hygiene items from the Shepherd’s Closet, another ministry under Rockford Baptist Church. The intent of MANNA Ministries was to be different from other food drops by giving the people an opportunity to pick what foods they wanted from a “shopping list” of what was available instead of just giving out generic boxes of goods.
While this event was overwhelmingly successful a review showed that many of the people served were from outside Coosa County, and a decision was made to limit participation in the future to residents of Coosa County only.
Since that time, the food drops are now on the third Thursday of every month and are drawing in an average of about 80 families. The families range from single households up to families of nine.
MANNA Ministries is not connected with government regulations. If a family has an issue between drops like a house fire, job loss, increase in the number in the family, etc., a call to Rockford Baptist Church can schedule an emergency pickup of food and/or clothes.
Pastor Jeff Fuller, Tina Fuller and a handful of volunteers stepped out on faith in God to start MANNA Ministries. In the 18 months ending on January 25, a total of 81,363 pounds of food was purchased and distributed from the Heart of Alabama Food Bank, a van DONATED to MANNA Ministries traveled 6,633 miles making 73 trips back and forth to the food bank, and the organization also collected $36,000 in additional donations.
The Ministries building now houses 7-plus freezers and refrigerators (in addition to the industrial ones housed in the church itself), and we now have more than 20 volunteers from all areas and denominations of the county helping with the activities we have. MANNA Ministries has also been able to share food with two other churches in the county that provide “meals on wheels” type services.
We have several different fundraisers during the year like cake, cookie and camp stew sales; yard sales; concerts; and other events. Right now we have a golf tournament scheduled for April 28 in Dadeville and are looking for teams to sign up. Funds from that will be used for additional equipment to meet our growing needs.
If you would like more information, please check us out on Facebook at MANNA Ministries of RBC. If your family or anyone you know needs assistance, the food drops are from 9 a.m. to noon monthly or call 256-377-4900 (leave a message if necessary). If you are interested in donating, please mail a check to Rockford Baptist Church – FOR MANNA MINISTRIES; 9575 U.S. Hwy. 231; Rockford, AL 35136.
Our mission is to show the love of Christ and to glorify God through food ministry. We are patiently waiting for the next step God will place on our hearts.
