The Disaster Relief Food Ministry, a local nonprofit organization, works to distribute food boxes to those in need in Henry and Patrick counties.
Jimmy Willard, founder of the organization, said he started the food ministry in 2011 after he began driving a school bus, and seeing that “people were just in need.”
Willard, who said he had been addicted to “crystal meth for about 20 years,” noted that this year marks 23 years “I’ve been clean. When I got clean, I wanted to do something to give back,” he said.
When he first started, Willard said he gave two food boxes to a family that lived on Bull Mountain in Patrick County. Now, “we’re up to probably 1,500 to 1,600 families every month,” he said.
Each box “can sustain a family of four for about two weeks,” Willard said, adding the non-profit also recently started a senior citizen program for those 60-years-old or older that meet the income guidelines.
“It’s fixed where you and your spouse can get a box, and we’re giving out 650 of them,” he said.
The senior distribution in Henry County is the second Tuesday of each month, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The regular distribution is the fourth Tuesday of the month, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Both distributions are held at the agency’s warehouse in Bassett where the organization is based.
The senior distribution in Patrick County is the second Thursday, from 3:30-5 p.m., and the regular distribution is the third Thursday, from 12:30-3:30 p.m. in Stuart.
There, boxes are put together and stored in the warehouse, where they can be loaded for transport or loaded into waiting vehicles. Each box includes everything a person needs from the five food groups – cereal, pasta, shelf-stable milk, raisins, green beans, cheese, a frozen food item, and other types of food.
Those in need of food can sign up to get boxes in the drive thru, Willard said.
“They sign up, and then once you get signed in the system, it’s all handled” electronically. “Then when you come through the next time someone will check your name off of the list,” he said.
“There’s no requirements other than the senior boxes, you got to be over 60 and meet the income guidelines,” he said. “For the regular box, that’s an income guideline, but nobody never is close to it. We can’t ask for any proof, any ID, or anything like that,” he said.
Willard often partners with Feeding America, which helped facilitate a grant for a food distribution truck for a mobile food pantry. Feeding Southwest Virginia, a food bank that offers subsidized food for people to purchase, also sets up regularly. It works with grocery stores and others to offer self-stable food at a reduced cost to those in need.
Willard said he sometimes leaves his debit card with when that agency sets up to ensure customers are able to purchase the food they need, regardless of their financial situation.
“I don’t want anybody to leave without any food,” he said.
For more information, call Willard at (276) 229-6272 or email him at drfm.inc@gmail.com. To donate, visit www.drfminc.com and click on the donate tab, or mail a check to P.O. Box 993 Stuart, VA, 24171.
For more information, visit Facebook.com/DisasterReliefFoodMinistryInc.
