On September 13th through September 18th, Barnabas Center and the Rotary Clubs of Nassau County asked the community for food donations to help people struggling with hunger. As a result, this county-wide food drive benefitted the Barnabas food pantry by restocking its shelves with healthy food. The food drive collected 22,025 pounds of food, and $6,425 in cash donations.
Barnabas asked the community to come together and help restock the Barnabas food pantry with healthy, nonperishable food items. Businesses, churches, and civic groups came together to provide drop-off locations for donated food items.
Special Thanks
The staff at Barnabas extends a special thanks to the Rotary Club of Amelia Island Sunrise for coordinating this effort. Barnabas also thanks the Greater Nassau Rotary Club and Rotary Club of Fernandina Beach for their involvement.
Barnabas also extends a special thanks to the following for acting as collection points for the food drive:
8 Flags Chiropractic; Chester Rd Yulee; the airport, Amelia Best Barber Shop, Amelia Concourse, Amelia Island Chapel, Amelia Island Coffee Shop, Amelia Linen & Wood, Amelia Park, Amelia Plantation (3 Foxtail Rd., Amelia Island), Atlantic Recreation Center, Barnwell Neighborhood, Beach Diner, Brandy Branch Baptist, Bryceville First Baptist Church, Callahan City Hall, Callahan First United Methodist, Centred on Yoga, City of Fernandina Beach, Coastal Cottage, Coastal Oaks, Courtyard & Springhill Suites, CVS Callahan, Digital Village, Edward Jones – Amelia Concourse, Edward Jones – Harris Teeter Shopping Plaza, Farm Bureau – Yulee, and First Baptist Church Hilliard.
In addition, First Federal Bank – Yulee, First Federal Bank – Fernandina Beach, First Federal Bank – Wildlight, First Missionary Baptist Church, First Port City Bank, First Port City Bank – Yulee, Flora Park, Girl Scouts, Golf Course, Grand Bluff II, Greater Mt Pleasant Church, Greater Nassau Rotary, Harbor Concourse, Harbor Concourse Neighbors, Highland Dues, Hilliard Schools, Island Hop Brew Festival, Isle De Mai Neighborhood, Jersey Mikes, Lighthouse Baptist – Bryceville, Little Piney Island, Lott’s Furniture, Marsh Lakes Development, Mt. Olive Baptist Church – Hilliard, Nassau County School District, Nassau Lakes, New To You Resale Stores, New Zion Baptist Church, North Hampton, North Hampton Neighbors, Ocean Reach, Peck Center, Pirates Cove Neighborhood, Police, Pool House 9/18, Publix Fernandina Beach – Fernandina Beach, Residence Inn – Fernandina Beach, Southeastern Bank – Callahan, Spice & Tea Store, Springhill Baptist Church, Surf Restaurant, Third Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Turner Plumbing, Wildlight Welcome Center, YMCA.
How the Community Helps Others
In addition to food donations, community members also gave gifts of monetary donations to support the Barnabas food pantry. Barnabas thanks Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, Southeastern Bank, The Rotary Club of Amelia Island Sunrise, the Woodmen Life Chapter 3 of Jacksonville, and other anonymous donations for their contributions.
The two photos above feature a check presentation with the Woodmen Life Chapter 3 of Jacksonville, FL. Featured in the photos above are (left-to-right) Renee Stoffel, Barnabas Community Outreach manager, Margie Wright, Linda Golden, and Alice neader.
The face of hunger in Nassau County includes working families, children, and the elderly. It is estimated that 9 percent of our community is hungry or facing food-insecurity. This simply means not knowing when or how they will get their next meal. Barnabas Center’s mission is providing help and hope to individuals and families in need throughout Nassau County to improve their stability, health, and well-being. as a result, Barnabas Center helps combat food insecurity through its food pantry and mobile food distributions. For more information about Barnabas’ food programs, visit www.BarnabasNassau.org/get-help/food-programs/.
