CULLMAN, Ala. – After a temporary suspension of services announced last Thursday, Cullman Caring for Kids (CCK) reopened its food bank Monday morning. While the food ministry is back up and running, it has made modifications to its method to protect the health of both its staff and clients.
Before the reopening, CCK Director Javon Daniel told The Tribune Sunday evening, “As it stands right now, we’ll open at regular time. We’re going to cut our distribution by half a day; we’re going to just be open Monday, Tuesday and Friday. We’ll be with a skeleton crew. It will be faster, because we’re not going to be doing all the paperwork. Nobody will be allowed in the food bank but employees. We’re going to be running with a skeleton crew, just for everybody’s protection.”
Daniel described the new procedure:
“They’ll pull through just like they’ve done in the past; we ask them to pull through down on the south end of the parking lot and just come around that circle there. They’ll stop and we’ll get their name. We ask them to open their trunk or the back of their SUV, or we’ll put it in the back of their pickup trucks. We will not put it in the passenger compartment.
“If we can find masks, we’ll have masks. Our folks will be wearing masks and gloves. I know that’s a big shortage right now, and I’ve already been told that that might not be possible, but we’ll do the best we can.
“And once they get their food, we’ll put it in their vehicle, but we will not put it in the passenger compartment. That’s just trying to be as cautious as we can. It’ll be strictly drive-through. We may ask them to hold up a picture ID, but we won’t be taking anything from them.
“And we will be checking our employees for temp every day. So, we’re going to be taking precautions to make sure that we’re good, but we ask them to please be patient with us. I anticipate there being a fairly busy day.”
CCK served 42 families last Monday and 74 on Tuesday, before safety concerns led the staff to pause distribution while they worked on a healthier approach.
Daniel concluded with a request to his clients: “We just ask them to be patient with us, and we’ll do the best we can.”
Monday’s crew included CCK Assistant Director Nancy Bryant, volunteers Tonja and Vaughn Grace, Jayne Roberts, and United Way of Cullman County’s Becky Goff and DeeAnn McDonald.
Walmart to the rescue
During the day, donations from the Walmart south store and Distribution Center arrived, including food items and hand sanitizer.
Goff added in a message to The Tribune, “And Walmart DC is sending lots of volunteers this week to help support CCK! They have really stood up to help us keep it open.”
Monday food distribution a success
After food distribution concluded for the day on Monday, CCK Assistant Director Nancy Bryant told The Tribune, “Everything went great, even through the rain. We still served 38 families today, and it was a blessing to be here for this community, because we know how important Cullman Caring for Kids is, and we didn’t want to let the community down.”
Get involved
Even with support already received, CCK is still having to work hard to keep its food pantry stocked. CCK can always use monetary donations, and if you’re on the way to the grocery store, the pantry’s high-volume items regularly include:
- canned beans, especially other than green beans
- canned vegetables
- dried beans
- cereal
- rice
To get involved, visit www.cullmancaringforkids.com or www.facebook.com/CullmanCaringForKids/ or call 256-739-1111.
Copyright 2020 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
