Hundreds of Jefferson County families are turning to a Monticello church each month for fresh food.
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Christ Episcopal Church food pantry feeds hundreds of Jefferson County families each month
Once a month, volunteers at Christ Episcopal Church in Monticello help neighbors put food on the table through a drive-thru food distribution. The church partners with Second Harvest of the Big Bend to distribute about 3,000 pounds of food each month.
Organizers say the effort helps feed roughly 150 to 200 Jefferson County families as many as 400 people many of them over the age of 60.
Neighbors receive fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy, meat and other grocery staples through the drive-thru.
The pantry is also one of a few healthy food options in the county. Monticello recently opened a new Aldi location, offering residents another option for healthy foods.
Joy Frisby, an organizer, says the new store will complement what the pantry already provides.
“They enjoy coming here. They enjoy talking to us. They enjoy helping their neighbors because we have a lot of people who pick up for families, so they’re going to continue to pick up for their families because there’s a lot of them in Jefferson County that do not have transportation.”
Frisby says transportation can still stand between some neighbors and fresh food. She noted that more food pantries have opened in the southern part of the county, helping reach neighbors across the community.
“These are local Jefferson County people that just need a little extra help,” she said.
Frisby described what neighbors typically receive at each distribution.
“We do a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, dairies, meats, and some canned goods, staple goods, but most of the time, it’s a lot of fresh fruits because this month we had a lot of cabbage and a lot of carrots,” she said.
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