COLUMBIA, S.C. — Arise Church in Lexington County hosted their drive-thru grocery giveaway for anyone in the area in hopes of helping those who truly need it.
The Salvation Army reported last month that, in Richland County alone, there were 65,000 residents considered food insecure. This event allows anyone who needs food to come and pick it up with no strings attached.
"Specifically, during COVID is when we began to see there was a real need for the community, with resources, unemployment and we asked how can we reach people and feed the community," lead pastor at Arise Church, Dallas Freeland, said.
And that's how the once-a-month giveaway at the church began. "We realized there was a greater need than we understood," Freeland added.
Since starting the event around when the pandemic began, Pastor Freeland said he's been a steady stream of people.
"Monthly we are feeding around 40 families which means we're feeding about 100 people," he said.
Brandon McClaine, who oversees the grocery giveaway and is the youth pastor at the church, said that even when there aren't long lines for their service they still see a large demand.
"With COVID, some people are not coming out so, they're taking it back to people in their neighborhood and community and families," McClaine said. "So, you might see two cards but we've handed out 10 bags."
The church plans to continue its once-a-month tradition, McClaine said.
"With all that's going on in the world, we just want people to know they are not out there by themselves," he added.
The event takes place every third Saturday from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. at the Arise Church. For those who can't make it, Harvest Hope has a full list of feeding locations in the area.