Local church offers Hope for the Hungry

♦ Sherwood Baptist volunteers are continuing their Tuesday outreach to Floyd County families in need.

During a time of uncertainty, Sherwood Baptist Church is providing families in need with groceries and continuing their ministry with Hope for the Hungry.

Hope for the Hungry is a ministry based out of First Redeemer Church in Cumming.

Sherwood began partnering with the ministry back in June 2018 to help provide groceries to families in need in the Rome and Floyd County area.

“Over the course of our partnership, we’ve been able to provide food for nearly 2,000 families,” Chris Hayes said.

Hayes is the pastor at Sherwood Baptist Church and hosts the food line on the third Tuesday of each month at the church on Goodman Road.

This past Tuesday, Sherwood Baptist gave out over 3,675 pounds of boxed food. Of the 147 families that received boxes, 100 of them were first timers. Along with the boxed food, the church also gave out 2,500 pounds of potatoes to the families.

Hope for the Hungry partners with Atlanta Food Bank and other Atlanta area food banks for the drives.

“Every day of the week, they have trucks going out to different locations,” Hayes said.

The large amount of potatoes came from a tractor trailer that had recently wrecked.

“The cargo was fine, but the grocery stores have to reject it because it was in an accident,” Hayes said.

“The owner of the food company contacted Hope for the Hungry ... and they are able to provide not only food that comes from the food bank, but also anything else that comes that way.”

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, social distancing — staying away from crowded areas to avoid contact with others — has been heavily advised by several health organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The church minimized contact by having families stay in their cars when registering for a box and when receiving the box.

“We’re taking the best precautions we possibly can,” Hayes said.

The pastor said they will continue this ministry through the next couple of months, unless something changes.

For those who wish to receive groceries and participate in the program, Hope for the Hungry is at Sherwood Baptist every third Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. All participants need to do is show up and talk to one of the volunteers about receiving a box.

Contributed photos Sherwood Baptist Church member Jim Wallace (far left) and Shorter students Tate Tipton and Porter Johnson (left) help hand out boxes of food on Tuesday as part of the church’s ministry partnership with Hope for the Hungry. Middle: As a safety precaution and an act of social distancing, volunteers interact with people through their cars.