SUMTER, S.C. — A couple in Sumter is boxing up food and giving back to their community. It’s an idea that started during the COVD-19 pandemic and has continued as food costs rise due to inflation.
"These people are good people and I think there’s more good people than bad in the world and this is an example of it, to me anyway," Sumter resident John Sellar shares.
Sellar and his wife began packaging food boxes and giving them out to the Sumter community when the COVID-19 pandemic first began.
"We started it then thinking it would only be a couple of weeks," Sellars laughs. "And then what started as two weeks though turned into multiple years and we kept going."
Now, the Sellars say they’ve provided food for more than 200 people in Sumter. They pack each box full of non-perishables — enough to feed a family of four for one week.
"Through incredibly generous friends and family from here and throughout the east coast, people were making donations and usually about $25 to fill a box," Sellars explains. "So people started sending $25. 'Can you get a box or us? Can you get a box?' And we just kept going."
He and his wife deliver boxes to anyone who needs it. Now, they’re leaving a boxes at their church Salt & Light on Miller Road for people to pick up — although the boxes are not affiliated with the church itself.
"I just don’t think that there’s any shame in calling up and saying, 'Hey you know I saw this thing,' or 'I heard about this, do you think I could get a box?" Sellars tells me. "I’ll be glad to help you out."
It’s a constant need, Sellar says. Meeting that need through others' generosity is what he calls inspiring.
"You think about it and your faith in humanity…I’m telling you," Sellars smiles. "It was really nice to see and it just goes to show that people do care and they want to contribute."
If you’d like a food box delivered or want to pick one up, Sellar says you can reach out to him by sending a private message on Facebook.
People interested in supporting the mission can also reach out to him directly to learn how to help or how to assemble boxes yourself.