At the Wake Forest Baptist Church Mobile Market, organization is the name of the game. The volunteers who run the program operate like a well-oiled machine, as they pack, move, and load up food items for distribution to neighbors in need on the third Tuesday of every month. The church mission has been going on for the last 14 years and serves around 70 households each month. That number has risen in response to COVID and today’s economic challenges, but the folks that carry out the operation are committed to meeting the needs of those who show up each month, with food provided by Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.
Chris and Leigh Berrier coordinate the Mobile Market. They are ably assisted by 20+ volunteers who range in age from the very young to those in their senior years. Rev. Leah Harlow, Minister of Youth and Missions for Wake Forest Baptist Church, is also on hand to help with the Market. The members of the church congregation who volunteer vary from month to month, but some have been helping out for many years. “It’s a great way to be of service and to give something back to the community. And it’s a wonderful way to spend time with other church members,” shares Robert Beadle, who has been a Mobile Market volunteer for the last five years. Robert’s teenage daughter, Anna, now joins him each month.
Leigh says that it was actually her children that got her originally involved with the Mobile Market. “It was a way to involve them in volunteering as young children when they were in elementary school. There aren’t a lot of ways to do that. We continued to do this as a family as they grew and graduated from high school. Now they’re grown and Chris and I are still here.” Her energy is palpable as she moves around the various tasks of the Market, seeing to what needs of everyone on hand.
Chris calculates how many cars are left in line against how much food is left to distribute. The goal is to have nothing left at the end of the evening, but they don’t want to run out before the last car has come through. It’s a delicate balance, but one he’s mastered pretty well after a dozen years of doing so. The final car rolls through with a plentiful supply of groceries, fresh produce, and baked goods loaded into the trunk before heading home. For the volunteers, another month’s work is done and it’s time to clean up and put away the tables and supplies. The Food Shuttle team loads up the empty boxes and the truck heads back to the warehouse in Raleigh. Now, all that’s left to do is start planning for next month’s Market, which will definitely occur right on schedule.