Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

After a successful drive-through food distribution in Holland about four weeks ago, a local organization will be holding another in Whaleyville this Saturday.

The May 9 drive-through hosted by Suffolk Christian Fellowship Ministry and Suffolk Christian Fellowship Center will take place at the Whaleyville Recreation Center, 132 Robertson St., starting at 11 a.m. It will be as low- to no-contact as possible.

“We’re going to keep them going,” said Lorna Slaughter, co-founder and chief operations officer of Suffolk Christian Fellowship Ministry and Suffolk Christian Fellowship Center. “I really want people to take advantage of this opportunity to come out and get goods for their family.”

The April 18 drive-through distribution in Holland provided bags of food for about 135 households. Slaughter said she has been thinking for some time, even before the COVID-19 pandemic started, about how to serve people in the city’s more rural areas, since not everybody can get to the downtown location at 211 E. Washington St.

Slaughter said she heard recently that “This is the time to unearth those alternative approaches you can take to really make an impact.” She has taken that to heart with the mobile food distributions.

“My goal is to not let this virus cause the extended trauma that it can cause beyond just the physical,” she said. “If this is just one way we can play our part in alleviating the weight this virus puts on a community or a family, this is what we’re supposed to do.”

The bulk of the donated food given away on Saturday will be from Operation Blessing, Slaughter said. Volunteers from several churches will also be coming out to volunteer, and more volunteers are welcome.

Slaughter said another giveaway is planned in early June in the Hobson area.

For more information, call 353-0471.