Hundreds turn out for Meridian area food drive

Why would an 88-year old disabled woman that’s had four knee replacements want to help distribute 10,000 pounds of food to area residents?

“I’m uplifted by it,” said longtime Meridian resident and community activist Kay Long. “I love seeing all the young people helping out.”

Long and 30 other volunteers helped distribute 400 boxes of food to Meridian residents March 19. Workers from Mississippi Power, Liberty Coal, the city of Meridian, and Hands On Mississippi rolled up their sleeves for the event.

“Organizing the food is a study in organized chaos,” said Hands On Mississippi Director Holly Gibbs. “We unload the food from trucks to the warehouse then portion it out in boxes for each individual that comes through the line. We mobilized as many volunteers as we could for this.”

As a member of the company’s Community Connection group, Meridian Customer Service Representative Latonja Johnson helped organize the food and also carried boxes for many of the elderly who needed help getting it back to their cars.

“This allows us to serves our customers in a different way,” Johnson said. “It’s also fun to meet the different volunteers and work together as a team.”

The work is also appreciated by those area residents who benefitted from the massive food drive.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” said 70-year old Willie Rackley.

A day later, more than 5,000 pounds of food was distributed to 218 residents in Kemper County.