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As the holiday season comes to an end but the COVID-19 pandemic continues to gather strength, a local church has decided to give back to a community that is still in need.

Suffolk Christian Church is hosting a January food giveaway from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Jan. 23, at 216 N. Main St.

“This is something we came up with to help the community,” said Priscilla Bunch, director of children, youth and adult ministries at Suffolk Christian Church. “We may do another giveaway in February, but we will see how well this one goes first.”

This giveaway will be in a drive-through format. The church has a parking lot on each side of the building, so the line will enter one parking lot and continue through the other parking lot to exit. The drive-through will be split into two lanes to limit the backup into the main road and visit different stations and tables to receive items.

At the giveaway, the plan is to give out 150 bags of food that include necessities like flour, sugar, eggs and a Walmart gift card.

“We saw other churches and organizations hosting giveaways and knew we had the resources to do our own,” said Bunch. “We felt like it was a good thing to do for the people in need in our community.”

Suffolk Christian Church is ready to serve the community on Jan. 23. However, if inclement weather decides to show up, a rain date is scheduled for the following weekend, Jan. 30.

For Suffolk residents who may not make it to this specific giveaway, Bunch gave a reminder that the church’s food pantry is still open from 2:30 to 4 p.m. every Tuesday except the first Tuesday of the month.

“Our food pantry is operational again,” she said. “After being closed for so long during the lockdown, we are trying to rebuild it and get the word out that we are back.”