Every Monday, cars start lining up as early as 7:30 a.m. in front of God’s Goods Thrift Store in Bluffton. The drivers aren’t waiting for the store to open, though. They are awaiting the opening of the weekly Food Bank and the drive-through pick-up that will begin at 12:30 p.m.
Like God’s Goods, the Food Bank is a ministry of The Church of the Cross, powered by volunteers. Both ministries are located at 15 Centre Drive in Bluffton, in a building known as the Mission Mall.
Each week, 50 to 60 volunteers will hand out bags of food to an average of 400-plus families.
Leading the sizable group of volunteers is George Stephani, ministry leader for the Food Bank, and seven Leadership Team members. In the midst of service on a Monday afternoon, Stephani stayed busy answering questions from volunteers, straightening food storage bins inside, and showing a visitor around the premises.
Near the front door, in a large pantry, are cases of nonperishable goods. Stephani explained the process of gathering and then distributing the food. “Some of this food is donated by Second Helpings, and most we purchase from Lowcountry Food Bank at a discount,” he said. “We bag up any meat we get in, often in bulk from Second Helpings.”
Perishable foods are stored in refrigerators and freezers in another room.
Every Saturday morning, after volunteers from Second Helpings drop off several hundred to several thousand pounds of food, 15 to 20 Food Bank volunteers sort and set it up by category on racks and tables in the main room of the Food Bank. On Mondays, additional deliveries of food are received, averaging 4,000 to 5,000 pounds, in addition to donations from parishioners from Church of the Cross and private donors bringing bags of food from Moss Creek, Colleton River Club, and other communities.
On Monday mornings at 9 a.m., Stephani gathers all volunteers for a job briefing and prayer.
On Monday mornings at 9 a.m., Stephani gathers all volunteers for a job briefing and prayer. “We are a God-driven ministry,” he said. Then, volunteers start their day by filling grocery carts with bags of whatever food has been sorted in the bins and on racks – typically canned and jarred goods, boxed cereals, pasta, spaghetti sauce, breads, fresh vegetables and fruits, meat, and dessert. Some days there might be a special item or two, such as watermelons in the summer or pumpkins in the fall.
As opening time nears, volunteers roll their carts, each loaded with several bags of groceries, out the door and down the sidewalk to the curb, where guests in the lined-up cars await.
As a volunteer guides drivers to slow and stop, they exchange pleasantries and determine their needs. A prayer is offered, then volunteers load the bags of food into the backseat or trunk of each vehicle.
Diapers and cereal are available from a separate blue tent ahead of the food line. This ministry was started by and is managed by a church parishioner who saw a need for young families.
As guests line up in their cars, those with babies living in their household can ask for the size they need. An average of 40-plus families per week request diapers.
Those receiving food may also receive a ticket to shop at God’s Gifts, a no-charge pop-up shop located in a room adjacent to the Food Bank. The tickets are handed out to keep track of numbers of people served.
Here, shoppers can choose whatever they want from clothing and shoe racks, kitchen and housewares, a jewelry table, an accessories area, and toys.
Near the entry of the shop, yet another ministry is available. A prayer circle is marked by a few chairs and tables pulled together, where volunteers are available to talk or pray with any guests upon request.
The slogan on many of the volunteers’ T-shirts, and the mission of the ministry overall, is “Each One Reach One That None Should Be Lost.”
“We are all boots on the ground for God,” Stephani said.
Volunteers line up grocery carts filled with food to be distributed to families with food insecurity free of charge at the Church of the Cross Food Bank in Bluffton.
The Food Bank began in the Parish Hall at the Historic Campus of Church of the Cross at the end of Calhoun Street, overlooking the May River. The opening date is easy to remember, Stephani said – September 11, 2001.
In 2016, the church moved the Food Bank from the Parish Hall to the building on Centre Drive, and God’s Goods Thrift Store moved there as well. Since 2020, adapting the distribution process for Covid-19, the drive-through system has worked very well and continues.
The Food Bank is open to the public every Monday, year-round, from 12:30 to 2 p.m., and again from 4:30 to 6 p.m. (except on Christmas). No questions are asked, and everyone who comes through the line is served.
Donations of food (and grocery bags) from the community are welcome and are received from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturdays, and 9 a.m. to noon Mondays at the Mission Mall, 15 Centre Drive in Bluffton. Donations can also be dropped off at God’s Goods Thrift Store during their operating hours, Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information, to donate, or to ask about volunteering, visit thechurchofthecross.net.
