Since Loaves and Fishes of Lowndes County started in 2008, the nonprofit has fed a lot of hungry mouths.
Last year, the group’s volunteers served about 80,000 meals to those in need, President John Davis said. Over the past five years, that number has grown by about 10,000 meals per year.
“For me, it’s a real joy to see some of the folks that come, because you know that they truly need it,” Davis said. “We don’t turn anybody away. So anybody who wants one gets a meal. We don’t ask any questions.”
The nonprofit typically serves lunches Monday through Saturday, thanks to the help of 46 churches and civic organizations who rotate preparing food, Davis said.
But once a year, the group holds a special dinner – a fundraiser that allows the community to support its efforts. Loaves and Fishes Chairman Fred Kinder said that dinner is returning for its 11th year on Thursday evening.
Members of the Exchange Club of Columbus will deliver plates of pork loin, potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans, cornbread and dessert directly to the cars of ticket holders in the Annunciation Activity Center parking lot at 823 College St., Kinder said.
Ticket holders will be assigned a time slot, either between 5-6 p.m. or 6-7 p.m., to come pick up their meal. The separate time slots allows the group to serve as many people as possible without causing issues with traffic, Kinder said.
“The police are not too happy when 300 people show up at one time, so we split the crowd,” Kinder said.
Kinder said anyone who wants to pick up a plate must purchase a ticket in advance, as the group will not be selling tickets at the door.
Tickets for the fundraiser are $20 – or two for $35 – and are available at Annunciation Catholic Church, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and First Methodist Church of Columbus.
Davis said the fundraiser helps to support Loaves and Fishes efforts generally, but the fundraiser will particularly help with buying water bottles, since the nonprofit started handing out a bottle with every meal during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Davis said many of the groups that help with the regular Loaves and Fishes meal service also work together to create the fundraising dinner. While some volunteers help to work on the meal in advance – like Rev. Andrew McLarty with St. Paul’s Episcopal Church who is smoking the pork for this year’s fundraiser, or other churches preparing homemade desserts – many others help with assembling the plates on the day of, which is typically an “all day” effort. Last year, Kinder said, the fundraiser dinner served between 350 and 360 people.
Every year, Davis said, he looks forward to getting to see all the volunteers serve alongside each other to support Loaves and Fishes.
“The camaraderie of working together on an assembly line like that … it’s not only great for Columbus, it’s great for downtown to have these downtown churches working together and pulling together,” Davis said. “I’m just grateful and thankful each year to see so many people willing to come together and support people that they don’t even know.”
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