Food insecurity in farm country, and how a ‘manna drop’ helps fight it
A shrill beeping, made by a panel truck being put in reverse, signals Gary Martin’s arrival at Lakeside Assembly Church of God in Moultrie. After an hourlong drive from Valdosta, he maneuvers the truck up to the rear door of the church’s gymnasium.
Once the vehicle is in place, Martin wrestles pallet after pallet of its contents into the gym. Each is heavy with food donated by retail grocers and other suppliers across Southwest Georgia, and it has reached Moultrie through a mobile food pantry network serving rural people in need.
It’s late on Thursday afternoon, and Lakeside church members will soon sort the food into plastic bags so families in need can pick it up the next day. The Saturday events are known locally as “manna drops,” after the biblical accounts of nourishment known as manna falling from heaven.
“I needed [the manna drop] before I’d ever heard about it,” says Jean Merritt, who is 54 and lives with her husband, son, and the son’s friend in the small community of Hartsfield, northwest of Moultrie.
This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 9:06 AM with the headline "Food insecurity in farm country, and how a ‘manna drop’ helps fight it."