Back in March of 2020, the volunteers who work in the kitchen at Cornelia United Methodist Church knew they had work to do. The beef brisket had already been purchased for their mid-week dinner that would celebrate St. Patrick’s day. According to Debbie Rumbold, the chairman of the kitchen committee, when everything shut down from the pandemic, they put the plan for making corned beef and cabbage aside and found a new casserole recipe that would feed more than a hundred. Instead of feeding the church, the kitchen workers fed their community.
Beyond corned beef casserole
The kitchen workers kept feeding their community every week for as long as they could financially keep it up. After several months, they had to move to providing once a month free drive-through dinners. Donations from members of the church and from stores like Jaemor’s and Walmart helped keep the ministry going.
The workers have never taken reservations and have fed groups as small as 150 and as large as 250. Sometimes, they have food to spare and they take that to the area’s first responders – police and sheriff offices, fire departments, hospitals, and EMTs. Sometimes, they run out of dinners altogether, and are only able to give bags of food. Determined to make a difference to the lives of the people in their community, they continue on.
Joining up with the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia
After hearing from workers and nurses in several local schools that there were people in the community who still struggled without enough food, this intrepid group applied for support from the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia in Clayton. This month will be the first time that they’ll be distributing bags of food from the Food Bank for those who come by.
This hard-working group of volunteers only numbers about 15 people. That includes those who cook, pick up and pack the bags of food, and distribute the food. On Saturday, May 15th, dinner and groceries will be available for pickup at the church from 4-5 p.m. No reservations are needed. Cornelia United Methodist Church is located at 275 Wyly Street in Cornelia.
