Cornelia UMC continues to provide groceries to those in the community who need assistance. In February 2022, however, the church changed the way it provides help by providing an opportunity for those who need food assistance to shop weekly from its pantry on Thursdays from 1-2:30 pm. While no reservations are needed, the church does ask that households only shop one Thursday per month. During the month of March, the pantry was able to provide food assistance to 220 families.
Cornelia UMC moved its food program from Saturdays to Thursday in an effort to meet a specific need in the community. Debbie Rumbold, the coordinator of the program explains, “While there are many places offering food, most seem to be open only on the weekend. Thursday addresses those who are not working. Just prior to our time on Thursdays, the Cornelia Soup Kitchen on Level Grove Road is open and is located just minutes from our church. Those in need can have a meal there and then shop our pantry.”
Rumbold adds, “We stopped doing the regular monthly meals because fewer people were attending, as businesses were getting back to normal after COVID lockdowns. Plus, we realized that our allotted funds could provide many meals for each family instead of just one by operating the weekly food pantry.”
Rumbold explains that she works with a host of enthusiastic church volunteers who show up to shop with the family member who comes for food. In fact, Rumbold says, “While I’m charge of it, we have so many people who love it that more show up to work than we have scheduled. We also have bi-lingual volunteers to help.”
Cornelia UMC hope to target those that truly need food assistance. They do not need financial information and there is no application required for services. The church does, however, ask for basic data in order to do required statistics.
According to Rumbold, the effort is very much supported by pastor Ben Wilcox and the congregation. In fact, at both Christmas and Easter, the church provided members with empty boxes and list of food items needed for the pantry. Additionally, Cornelia UMC is a part of the the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia and receives supplies from them as well. Rumbold shares, “Ingles, Jaemor Farms, and Quality Foods have also helped us. At times, we have been able to give out grocery store gift cards that were donated by a church member.” However, their food pantry has limited supplies at times as we find certain items hard to obtain at times.
In addition to providing food, the church accepts personal prayer requests, have given referrals regarding grief support, and shares information on how to possibly get lower cost prescription meds. Plus the pantry volunteers can provide a list of other local food resources. Since some of the volunteers also serve with other non-profit organizations, they provide information about things like clothing acquisition for those in need.
Cornelia UMC is located at 275 Wyly Street, Cornelia Georgia 30531. For additional information, contact the church at (706) 778-4827.
