Church plans food box giveaway despite weather
A northeast Oklahoma City church will distribute free food boxes Saturday and Monday, despite frigid temperatures forecast for the region.
The Rev. Derrick Scobey, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, said his church is committed to distributing food to families in need no matter the weather.
The preacher said he had learned that the church would not be part of a fifth phase of food distribution planned for February and immediately called the offices of Gov. Kevin Stitt and U.S. Rep. Stephanie B ice to see if the elected leaders could find out why the church might have been bypassed.
“I was worried because the need is still here,” Scobey said.
Friday, the pastor said, he was thankful when he learned that the food box deliveries were scheduled once again because Ebenezer Baptist had not had a food box distribution since mid-December.
He said Stitt and Bice had helped to ensure that Ebenezer Baptist would be on the next food distribution route. He said the coming food distribution would benefit not just the Oklahoma City community but also other cities.
The church planned to send 600 food boxes for distribution to several churches in the Wellston and Luther areas, under the direction of the Rev. Patricia Johnson, pastor of two United Methodist churches in those communities.
Scobey said food boxes will be distributed beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and at 2 p.m. Monday at Ebenezer Baptist, 3600 N Kelley.
“I' m very grateful to Gov. Stitt f or reaching out to Go Fresh of Tulsa and to Congress woman B ice for reaching out the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and Go Fresh to help us get food to needy families,” he said.
The elected leaders said they wanted to assist Scobey and his church as they continue to assist the community.
“My team and I worked with Pastor Scobey and Ebenezer Baptist Church to hand out the USDA Farmers to Families food boxes in December, so we've seen first-hand that the need for these is great in our communities. When we found out the church didn't receive any boxes in the fifth distribution from the USDA and heard about even more families in need from a church in Luther, Oklahoma, we knew something had to be done,” Bice said in a statement.
“Working with Gov. Stitt's office, Pastor Sc obey, and others, we were able to secure two truck deliveries this month and informed the USDA that these food boxes are still very much needed in Oklahoma.”
Charlie Hannema, spokesman for Stitt's office, said the governor was glad to help.
“The governor is very grateful for Pastor Scobey's leadership and dedication to serving his community and will continue to leverage available resources to help Ebenezer Baptist Church reach Oklahomans in need,” Hannema said in a statement.