SALISBURY — The long lines that typically accompany the United States Department of Agriculture’s food distribution in Rowan County are no more.
That’s because the program, which serves about 1,300 households each quarter, is now being run through Rowan Helping Ministries.
“The really big thing is that folks do not have to show up here Monday morning and wait in line because the process is now designed to be able to give out food every day,” said Kyna Foster, executive director of Rowan Helping Ministries. “They can come when it’s convenient for them.
“I think that’s the most positive change. It will provide a better way to make this food available to people who need it.”
For more than a decade, the Rowan County Department of Social Services partnered with the Altrusa Club to facilitate the program.
But the social services department opted out of offering the voluntary program this year due to limited staffing and the need to focus on mandated programs.
Foster said Rowan Helping Ministries already had the resources to take on the food distribution and many of the volunteers from the quarterly distributions have moved with the program.
“We were kind of a logical choice to be able to do it,” she said. “We didn’t have to invent the wheel to be able to serve people.”
Foster said the switch from a mass distribution is in line with many of the state’s other areas. She said only 13 counties still distribute USDA commodities through quarterly mass distribution event.
Read more in Friday’s Post.
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