Food distribution in Hobson Saturday

Published 9:53 pm Thursday, June 4, 2020

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The Suffolk Christian Fellowship Center continues to expand its outreach into rural areas of Suffolk with its latest drive-through food distribution in Hobson this Saturday.

Mount Lebanon Church of God in Christ, at 1732 Mt. Lebanon Ave., will host the event at 11 a.m. The fellowship center has hosted previous drive-through distributions in Holland and Whaleyville.

The event will be as low- to no-contact as possible, according to Lorna Slaughter, co-founder and chief operations officer of Suffolk Christian Fellowship Ministry and Suffolk Christian Fellowship Center.

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“We’ve been trying to focus on the outlying areas and the more rural areas of the city,” Slaughter said. “In doing so, we want to be all inclusive in what we’re trying to do. When we say we want to help the community, that includes all of the residents of the community to our best ability. And this is our way of trying to do it.”

Slaughter said that, through a neighbor of hers, she was able to connect with Mount Lebanon and its pastor, Larry Gray, to coordinate the event.

Volunteers will be putting together about 150 food boxes Friday at a storage facility on Main Street, she said, thanks to help from Harry Cross of Cross Realty, and then Saturday, they will deliver the food to Hobson.

Unlike at past events in which multiple vehicles were used to deliver the food to the distribution sites, Slaughter said she was able to secure the use of a box truck from Mike Duman, owner of Mike Duman Auto Superstore and a member of City Council.

Having served 135 families in Holland, and another 50 in Whaleyville, Slaughter looks forward to continuing to reach underserved and rural areas of the city.

“That’s the hope that we can continue, moving forward, we will continue to be able to reach those communities beyond just this right here,” Slaughter said. “Who knows what’s going to come with all this, but I do believe something more is going to come and build into something greater.”