Food Bank Breaks Ground
A ground clearing ceremony was held last Wednesday, April 5, at the new location of the Jasper County Community Food Bank (JCCFB) on Freedonia Road, south of Monticello in Jasper County,.
A large group turned out to join in the festivities. Ken Horton, current chair of the JCCFB, led the festivities.
He began by giving a brief history of the food bank, talking about the need that was realized prior to 2010. At that time the Department of Family & Children Services (DFCS) office was in charge of emegency food response, and it was ill prepared for such. He talked about a family who donated a freezer in honor of the memory of a family member.
About the same time, Jason Parr and Juanita Thomas Norris were in a meeting where the need was vocalized. Ms. Norris spoke about how she wrote out a plan for a food bank and resource services in 2006, when she was working in Atlanta. She said a wreck that put her out of work is what put the food bank into perspsective, and got it off the ground.
Mr. Parr is the pastor of The Church at Monticello. He gave the opening prayer, and reviewed some of the history of the food bank.
Mrs. Norris told history from her perspective, talking about when it came to fruition in the basement of the Chinese restaurant on the Square to its move to various locations to this, which was ultimately always the goal.
Once the history was reviewed, they talked about how the new property would be used because besides a new Food Bank, the building will offer a resource center, and house the ML&J fund raiser. And, they talked about how they got to this point in building a new food bank.
Commissioner Bruce Henry talked about how the commission became aware that the county was eligible to apply for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), and wasn’t sure what was the greatest need that would qualify for the grant. The commission got to looking around and agreed a Food Bank would fill be bill.
So, application was made, and the county learned it received the grant. Then, the search for a location intensified.
That’s where Drucilla and Danny Barron come in. They became aware of the need for a location for a food bank, and they had some land that they planned to build on, but had not yet begun. After prayerful consideration, they offered it for sale to the Food Bank, and the location was secured.
Food Bank personnel investigated numerous plots for the facility, and the one belonging to the Barrons is what worked out. The photo below shows them at the closing table last month. Those pictured include (clockwise from Mrs. Barron) Drucilla Barron, Danny Barron, Ken Horton, County Manager Mike Benton, Food Bank volunteer Bill Nash, and Commission Chairman Don Jernigan.
Mr. Jernigan spoke at the ground clearing, complimenting Mr. Henry for the work he did on behalf of the County Commission to make this happen. Mr. Horton closed out the remarks, then he and Food Bank volunteer Bill Combs (middle photo) each cut down trees to begin the ground clearing.
