b'A drive-through process, cars now stop at six to eight stations where they receive a pantry box plus milk, cheese, eggs, bread, frozen chicken and pork, and fresh fruit and vegetables.Families now leave with about 100 pounds of food. Enough to last two to three weeks, depending on the size of the family, WES SEWELLIt was shortly after that when Johns Hopkins [University] started posting COVID numbers. Thats when I knew we needed to dust off our pandemic plan and get some processes in place.- FRANK RICHARDSThe need is tremendous, says McCall. On top of people wesays McCall. Each time it looks a little different based on what were helping before the pandemic, we now have people that havewe have in the warehouses.never asked for assistance before.Throughout the year, Second Harvest of South Georgia From the start of the first mobile food distribution on March 20,maintains about 5 million pounds of frozen, refrigerated, and through the end of July, Second Harvest of South Georgia gavedry products within three warehouses.away more than 11 million pounds of foodthe equivalent of 9.71 million meals (based on 1.2 pounds of food per meal). We turn the inventory over three to four times a year, says Richards. This year, we expect to distribute more than 20 The mobile food distribution events occur three times a month million pounds of food, up from the approximately 16 million rotating between Valdosta, Thomasville, and Tiftonand each onein previous years.serves 1,500 to 2,000 families on a first-come, first-serve basis.Even as businesses started to reopen and children return When we get to the site to set up, usually around 6 a.m., thereto school, the long lines of cars are a visual reminder that in are hundreds of cars wrapped around the parking lot, saysSouth Georgia, one in five people have difficulty accessing McCall. Weve had people tell us they waited four to five hours.affordable and nutritious food daily. When the mobile distributions started, families received a pantrySend in the Troopsbox filled with non-perishable items such as soups, beans, rice,Called on in a time of crisis, members of the Georgia and canned fruits and vegetables.National Guard have assisted in a variety of COVID-19 related assignments from disinfecting nursing homes to helping food McCall says the amount of food given to families has grownbanks across the state. exponentially thanks to increased corporate donations and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Coronavirus Food AssistanceThe National Guard has been crucial, not only helping us Program (CFAP), which includes the Farmers to Families Foodbuild the pantry boxes, but they also assist at the weekly Boxes.distribution sites, says McCall. We could not do this without them. 16 SG MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020'