How one Columbia church is helping to alleviate hunger this holiday season and throughout the year

Shawn May, left, and Markus Key, both members of the Progressive Missionary Baptist Church at 702 Banks Ave., load free food baskets into a car’s trunk for two families on Tuesday during the church’s food basket distribution to support families in the community.
Shawn May, left, and Markus Key, both members of the Progressive Missionary Baptist Church at 702 Banks Ave., load free food baskets into a car’s trunk for two families on Tuesday during the church’s food basket distribution to support families in the community.

Vehicles lined up in the parking lot of Progressive Missionary Baptist Church on Tuesday, as they do two Tuesdays every month.

Church volunteers loaded the vehicles with boxes of food, designed to last families until their next visit to the church at 702 Banks Ave., near downtown.

Though the church's food program operates throughout the year, recipients and church officials said it's especially needed during the holiday season.

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"This is a great program," said Sean Matticker, who was in line at the parking lot to receive his boxes of food. "It just reaches out to the community and gets people fed."

The church is a partner agency with the Food Bank of Central and Northeast Missouri, said Shawn May, a deacon at the church.

It's been a long-term project for the church, said Pastor Roderick Williams.

"We do this twice a month for the whole year," Williams said."We've been doing this probably close to 40 years. We've been doing it as long as the food bank has been in existence."

There can be more demand during the holidays, but hunger doesn't go away the rest of the year, Williams said.

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"Food insecurity is a strong issue, not just in our city, but all over the world," Williams said.

The food packages continued through the pandemic, May said. While previously people came inside to receive their food boxes, it switched to a drive-through service during the pandemic and still continues that way.

It's part of the church's ministry, May said.

"People will get comfortable coming to the church," he said. "We're introducing God and Christ to people. That is a ministry that's needed. People are going through things and they need people to talk to. We're here for them."

Another in line to receive food boxes was Teresa Goldman.

"It's really helpful getting food," Goldman said. "Sometimes I have money to buy food. Sometimes I don't."

It's more helpful during the holidays, she said.

The program feeds around 200 people every month or around 70 families, Williams said.

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The food packages contain several types of vegetables and fruits, peanut butter and canned foods. One box on Tuesday contained ham, turkey sausage and muffins.

Loading the box into a vehicle, Williams and May, told the recipients they were going to enjoy it.

Though the food is available at 1 p.m. two Tuesdays a month, it's not the same Tuesdays every month. People may call the church at 573-443-0611 to find out when the next event is.

rmckinney@columbiatribune.com

573-815-1719

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, Food Bank team up to feed families in need in Columbia