Helping Hands During Covid 19

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Daily I am amazed and thankful for the acts of kindness and compassion being carried out to feed the people in our state. Florida thrives on the tourism industry and has been tragically hard hit with furloughed jobs. Unemployment compensation has not even begun for many.

So much of the media news is negative and fear producing. I decided to share the positive and good that is happening around me. This is a very small snapshot.

The Grove church started their Covid-19 food ministry giving out 400 BBQ chicken meals, they increased the number each week and then local restaurants began donating the food. A few years ago the church was meeting at the YMCA and looking for an existing building to renovate for a permanent home. They chose an old, almost derelict vacant grocery store. It took two years for them to restore and convert it. God’s hand was in this plan! Because the building was previously a free standing grocery store it has an enormous parking lot, making them a perfect staging area for giving out food.

Our State Representative used one month of his legislative salary to fund a food distribution in his district. He partnered with FarmShare and he ran out of food in two hours. He has since partnered with FarmShare for a larger distribution and another is planned for May 7, 2020.

About FarmShare: With your help Farm Share can bring a semi-truck containing 42,000 pounds of fresh food to identified communities in need and distribute it to over 1,000 hungry families.

If you would like to know more about FarmShare click HERE

A call went out to the community that our homeless were in need and Representative Randy Fine responded as did others in the community.

First Baptist in Orlando is hoping to collect enough food to provide a week of meals to 500 families.

Our local YMCA is helping out too!

My favorite organization in our community is Hummingbird Pantry. I learned of it from people who come to our church food pantry. It is run by volunteers and gives out thousands of tons of food. We have been a couple of times since Covid began. You don’t choose your food. They load one of whatever (Or more if you have a large household) is available into you car. The first week I went to learn about it and curious to see if our church food pantry could receive some of the fresh veggie items. After a two hour wait, we received among other things, a case of fresh corn. We were able to share it with five other families. We’ve gone a couple of other times to get food to distribute to others, especially this who can’t get there.

This week they uploaded a video to You Tube showing the huge amount of cars in line and explaining their mission. The need is so great their resources are stretched thin and they are hoping for donations. Somehow they almost always have flowers. Feeding the spirit as well as the body.

I would love to read about your community or your volunteer work during this virus. If you have blogged about it, leave the link in comments! Together, we are winning.

All pictures are screen shots from Facebook.

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

My 2019 goal is to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.

Tags: Feeding the community, Food insecurity during Covid-19, Hummingbird Pantry