Photo By Keith Hayes | (Right) Shelley Townsend, a Daggett resident, wheels a walker stacked with food...... read more read more
Hundreds of families from the city of Barstow as well as Marine Corps Logistics Base and the Army’s Fort Irwin get food from the charitable groups Blessings and Military Blessings.
“We serve about 300 families, some have been waiting here since 5:30 this morning, some from Fort Irwin and the Marine base,” said Sandra Murray, who established and volunteers her time for Blessings and Military Blessings. Her husband is active duty Army working at MCLBB.
Murray said their 6-year-old daughter Zaina is also very active in Blessings and Military Blessings.
“She gives out flowers at the nursing homes to the residents and the workers there, and also at the hospital to the patients, the doctors and nurses and to the support staff there, as well as to the Marine wives on base,” Murray said. “She also makes up goodie bags and gives them out once a week to children living in motels and she makes up care packages and hands them out to the homeless.”
The morning of March 24, Sandra and Zaina and a score of volunteers were at Bethany Christian Fellowship Church on Armory Road. A crowd had gathered in the church parking lot to fill all manner of containers with food donated by several businesses from across San Bernardino and Riverside counties as well as from the nationwide food pantry Feeding America. Established in 1979, Feeding America supplies food to more than 46 million people nationwide through events such as the one at Bethany Christian as well as soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies.
Blessings serves mostly residents of Barstow and the surrounding communities, but also some active duty military families
.
“They don’t get a lot of money in the military,” said Harvey Smith, assistant pastor at the church for three years. “Sometimes they have to have more food because they have big families.”
“I volunteer here to help out the community,” said Andrew Hecker, an employee of Silver Valley Propane. He operated the forklift to unload a truck holding the donated food before stacking it in the parking lot.
“Silver Valley Propane lets me bring the forklift to help out,” he said. “I’ll definitely be getting some food, too. I have a son and another one on the way so every little bit helps.”
“We come here and pick up food, then we pack it up and go out and give it away to members of our church,” said Lupe Flores, a member of Connection Community Church on Main Street in Barstow. “We’ve been helping people out in our church because a lot of people are hurting.”
“The food helps, it really does,” said Shelley Townsend of Daggett, “and I have a sister that I take care off so it really helps out.”
There is no “means testing” to qualify for the food donation program with Blessings and Military Blessings.
“We’re not an audit agency where you have to prove your income,” Murray explained. “All they have to do is just sign up and then just stand in line and wait. If you need it you get it.”
| Date Taken: | 04.13.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 04.14.2017 11:45 |
| Story ID: | 230399 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 135 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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