By Helen Burkett Prencke
For the last fourteen years Pastor Lester Weldon has made it his mission to serve the Lord by feeding His people through the Appling County Food Bank. A part of Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia, Appling County’s Food Bank collects food locally from Harvey’s, Pizza Hut, Dollar Tree and Wal-Mart as well as generous community donations. Many have noticed the white refrigerated truck driving down the streets of Baxley looking both to collect and disburse food throughout the community.
The Food Bank’s refrigerated truck Pastor Lester Weldon uses to collect and disburse donated food to those in need.
Appling County Food Bank: Feeding the hungry since 2002
Recently a drive for peanut butter was well received by the churches of Appling County resulting in 314 pounds of peanut butter being donated in the month of June to help provide lunches to children during summer vacation. During July, Pastor Weldon hopes to amass pop tarts in preparation for the “NutriPacks” the Food Bank prepares during the school year.
The NutriPack Program, also known as the “Backpack Program,” provides bags of food anonymously in the backpacks of children throughout Appling County’s school system who may not have access to food over the weekends. Pastor Weldon became inspired to bring this program to Appling County when he and his wife were transporting children to church one Wednesday night and a young boy asked if supper would be served, saying he and his siblings had only eaten cereal for three days. With the help of three local Baptist churches, 2015-2016 was the first school year the Food Bank provided this supplemental assistance to 289 students each week.
Running the Food Bank is a full-time job for Pastor Weldon. He relies on volunteer efforts to record all the donations, stock the shelves and prepare boxes of food each qualifying family can obtain for free. On busy days up to forty-four families receive food—each family taking less than five minutes to receive the boxes of pre-packed food, which vary based on reported household size and health needs. The Food Bank is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday—this allows for the distribution of more perishable goods such as produce, meat and dairy both throughout the week and over the weekend. Volunteers labor every day except Sunday.
“We do not depend on government funding.” said Pastor Weldon, “We are completely funded by local donations and efforts such as United Way, the Post Office food drive in May and the school system food drive in November.”
Computer records only date back to 2006, but these records confirm over two million pounds of food have been distributed by the Food Bank almost exclusively through local efforts.
More than low income families benefit from the Food Bank—the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home, Pineland, Concerted Services, the 24/7 House and local nursing homes are just a few of the organizations who also receive food.
Families can seek emergency assistance from the Food Bank after filling out an application on site. Identification for all household members listed is needed as well as official proof of physical residence, such as a bill. Once approved, families receive a variety of foods including canned goods, meat, produce, bread, non-alcoholic beverages, and desserts as well as household supplies—such as toilet paper and paper towels— totaling over one hundred pounds once per month up to four times per year. This may not seem frequent, but the purpose of the Food Bank is not to become a discount grocery store.
“We want to help people who may not have the money to buy groceries whether it’s because they have had a family crisis, or someone is sick and they have to buy medications or they simply need some temporary help getting by,” said Weldon.
When the Lord commanded his servants to feed the hungry Pastor Lester Weldon took it to heart. Without the Appling County Food Bank many in our community would go hungry. Elderly and school children alike have benefited from an indispensable community organization many drive past every day without a second glance.
The NutriPack Program, also known as the “Backpack Program,” provides bags of food anonymously in the backpacks of children throughout Appling County’s school system who may not have access to food over the weekends. Pastor Weldon became inspired to bring this program to Appling County when he and his wife were transporting children to church one Wednesday night and a young boy asked if supper would be served, saying he and his siblings had only eaten cereal for three days. With the help of three local Baptist churches, 2015-2016 was the first school year the Food Bank provided this supplemental assistance to 289 students each week.
Running the Food Bank is a full-time job for Pastor Weldon. He relies on volunteer efforts to record all the donations, stock the shelves and prepare boxes of food each qualifying family can obtain for free. On busy days up to forty-four families receive food—each family taking less than five minutes to receive the boxes of pre-packed food, which vary based on reported household size and health needs. The Food Bank is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday—this allows for the distribution of more perishable goods such as produce, meat and dairy both throughout the week and over the weekend. Volunteers labor every day except Sunday.
“We do not depend on government funding.” said Pastor Weldon, “We are completely funded by local donations and efforts such as United Way, the Post Office food drive in May and the school system food drive in November.”
Computer records only date back to 2006, but these records confirm over two million pounds of food have been distributed by the Food Bank almost exclusively through local efforts.
More than low income families benefit from the Food Bank—the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home, Pineland, Concerted Services, the 24/7 House and local nursing homes are just a few of the organizations who also receive food.
Families can seek emergency assistance from the Food Bank after filling out an application on site. Identification for all household members listed is needed as well as official proof of physical residence, such as a bill. Once approved, families receive a variety of foods including canned goods, meat, produce, bread, non-alcoholic beverages, and desserts as well as household supplies—such as toilet paper and paper towels— totaling over one hundred pounds once per month up to four times per year. This may not seem frequent, but the purpose of the Food Bank is not to become a discount grocery store.
“We want to help people who may not have the money to buy groceries whether it’s because they have had a family crisis, or someone is sick and they have to buy medications or they simply need some temporary help getting by,” said Weldon.
When the Lord commanded his servants to feed the hungry Pastor Lester Weldon took it to heart. Without the Appling County Food Bank many in our community would go hungry. Elderly and school children alike have benefited from an indispensable community organization many drive past every day without a second glance.
Address: 1949 hatch parkway S lot 26