Seven volunteers and an Emergency Disaster Services rapid response truck set out from The Salvation Army Service Center in Newnan, Georgia, on a hot summer day, July 14, to deliver dinner and food bags to about 50 residents at the Stay Lodge, an extended-stay hotel. “A former director started what we call the ‘Honk and Holler’ program” to provide food to people in need, said Heather Creech, Newnan Service Center director. The Stay Lodge “is very close to us, and we go there regularly.”

“Sometimes we have partners and corporate sponsors provide the meals, sometimes we purchase or prepare them here in the center,” Creech said. For the recent Stay Lodge visit, the cooking was done by Kavian Baker, director of Sisters for Society Corp., a Newnan nonprofit that partners with The Salvation Army to serve local families in need. Another partner, the New Leaf Community Garden, provided fresh vegetables. Nonperishables came from service center’s pantry, which is stocked mostly by the Publix Food for Sharing program, Midwest Food Bank and the community.

Joining the food run were two visitors from Evangeline Booth College – Cadets Risa Robinson and Melissa Melching. “It’s pretty exciting; this is the first time we’ve had a cadet (Risa) at our service center for her summer assignment,” Creech said.

Photo credits: William Atkins