Sheriff’s deputies deliver food to the ill and elderly

♦ With many of the normal duties of the FCSO on pause, the agency works to help those in need.

With the local courts functioning on a virtual basis and service of warrants largely on pause, Floyd County deputies have turned a lot of their attention to finding other ways to serve the community.

Sheriff Tim Burkhalter asked Chaplain Dave Thornton to take a lead role in organizing food deliveries to the medically infirm and elderly residents across Rome and Floyd County.

“Our guys are all involved in wanting to do more,” Burkhalter said.

His staff got the delivery of prescription medications to seniors down to a science so he started looking for other ways to help.

“You know senior citizens are not supposed to get out, so we’re getting involved in more and more things,” said Burkhalter.

Deputies have also taken on the delivery of food and other necessities to cancer patients served through the Cancer Navigators program.

Dawn Hayes, at the Bagwell Food Pantry on East 19th Street, said the work of the deputies has been a tremendous help. The pantry typically distributes close to 10,000 pounds of food a week to needy residents. Since the COVID-19 crisis evolved locally, it has been doling out nearly double that amount, between 18,000 and 20,000 pounds a week.

Hayes said all of the local grocers — Kroger, Publix, Food Lion, Walmart and others — have really stepped up with donations to the pantry over the last six weeks. Walmart also donated all of their leftover Easter specials and Rome Cinemas donated all of their candy for distribution.

“We had to have a pickup truck,” Thornton said. “We had 16 cases of candy and stuff.”

All of the sugary items were distributed to families of law enforcement and emergency response personnel across the community.

Hayes said the deputies have been a huge help to

the agency because many of the elderly have been told not to get out to begin with, and in other circumstances they would get rides from neighbors.

“They can’t really do that either,” Hayes said. “It makes the folks feel safe when they see the sheriff’s car come up. It’s not somebody they don’t know coming up and knocking on their front door.”

Each family generally receives between 65 and 70 pounds of food in a box when they come to the pantry.

The deputies also distributed food to 76 children served by the local Backpack Buddies program Thursday. Thornton said an individual donated $5,000 to buy food cards so he purchased Chick-fila gift cards and each of the 76 youngsters also got one along with their food.

At the end of the day Thursday, the deputies had delivered boxes of food to more than 90 homes.

Because the Cancer Navigators program serves communities around the Rome area, Thornton said the deputies met other deputies from adjacent counties and transferred the food for distribution in Gordon, Chattooga and Polk counties.

Doug Walker Sgt. Josh Harkins loads up a box of groceries for delivery by one of the deputies Thursday. The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office helped the Bagwell Food Pantry get food out to the needy who cannot come to the pantry during the COVID-19 emergency.

Doug Walker Deputy Jeff Black puts a load of food into the back of a Cave Spring police cruiser for delivery to an elderly resident. Cpl. Tony Boston at the FCSO, who also serves part-time with the Cave Spring Police Department, made the delivery on Thursday.

Doug Walker Deputy Jeff Black (left) and Deputy Mike Williams take groceries to a patrol vehicle for delivery to a shut-in resident of the community Thursday.

Doug Walker Deputy Miranda Couey (left) checks with Dawn Hayes of the Bagwell Food Pantry to make sure she has everything for a delivery of food from the pantry Thursday.

Chaplain David Thornton