Rain came down in sheets and flash flood alerts blasted across cell phones as volunteers at Martin Street Baptist Church made hurried arrangements to move preparations for Saturday’s Mobile Market indoors. Cars had been lining up since 8:30 a.m. When the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle truck arrived at 9:00 to unload 10,000 pounds of produce, meat, and baked goods, the team of workers stood ready to sort, pack, and distribute food to the nearly 250 families who depend on the Mobile Market the second Saturday of each month. At 10 a.m., when the drive-through Market began, the volunteers moved like a well-oiled machine, loading boxes of groceries and produce out of the Multi-Purpose Building and into the cars and trucks of those grateful families.
LaSandra Owens, who has volunteered at Martin Street for the last four years, said she was coming to help that Saturday regardless of the weather. “People still got to eat. Indoors or out—I’ll still be there.” That was the general sentiment among the veteran group of volunteers. Lisa Anderson has been helping at the Mobile Market for the past eight years. She says in that time, she’s seen a lot of need, especially among children. “But the Food Shuttle is a way for kids to eat,” she says, talking about Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s partnership with the Mobile Market since 2011. “It’s much needed,” adds volunteer Stephanie Clayton. “It’s making a difference—one person at a time, one household at a time. The Food Shuttle helps us help them.”
LaSandra Owens
Lisa Anderson
Stephanie Clayton
Patricia Sanders started volunteering three years ago at the invitation of a friend. She says the monthly Market makes an impact. “People are appreciative. They keep coming back. You can see that it’s helping a lot of people.” Lisa Shaffer, who has volunteered for almost two years, is a social worker who sees first-hand the impact of which Patricia speaks. She marvels at “how wonderful it is that with the food provided here, these people can feed their families.”
Patricia Sanders
Lisa Shaffer
By 11:30 a.m., the rain had stopped and the last cars in line were pulling up, picking up boxes of produce and baked goods and heading home to put away that week’s groceries, secure in the knowledge that there would be food on the table for their families. The volunteers put away tables and broke down boxes, clearing away the debris of this Saturday’s event. They’ll be back the second Saturday of next month, rain or shine. The Food Shuttle will, too. Making a difference—one neighbor at a time.