CLEARWATER, Fla. — It was like Christmas morning at Hope Villages of America in Clearwater on Friday as 40,000 pounds of food were dropped off.
It’s all part of the America 250 celebration: 250 deliveries to 250 food banks across all 50 states.
“It gets all of us excited, because we need that food,” said Melvin Thomas, Vice President of Food Distribution. “This quarter, we had a thousand more people who needed services in the area than the previous year.”
Thomas says about 2,200 families a month are depending on them when it comes to putting food on the table.
“And it’s right on time because our shelves are getting low and so this well help us replenish to continue to meet the needs of our guests,” said Thomas.
The delivery was made possible thanks to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and their branch organization JustServe.org.
“It’s all in celebration of America 250, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints wanted to get highly involved in our nation's 250th birthday,” said Kim Fredrick with JustServe.org.
From the donations to the volunteers to the actual deliveries, the church said it’s this kind of group effort that our country was built upon.
“As we celebrate our 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it’s very important for us to continue to foster this spirit of unity, of serving together, and honoring the freedoms that we have to enjoy,” said Leandro Quatel, with the church.
“Oh my goodness, it’s so heartwarming, to me this is the gospel of Jesus Christ in action to help those in need. And what a great way to celebrate the anniversary of the country,” said Fredrick.
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