Food Ministry Rabun Gap Presbyterian Church

from Laurel of Northeast Georgia April 23

The Woman Who Lives Alone On A Mountain

By Peter McIntosh

There are many definitions of the word ministry, one is and I quote “the act of ministering or serving.” And serving is what the good folks at Rabun Gap Presbyterian do once a month (Every third Saturday at 7:30 AM) with their food ministry. Working with the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, the church distributes food of all kinds to families in need. On a typical Saturday, the hard working volunteers load up between 125 and 150 vehicles with canned goods, fresh fruit, vegetables and other various food goods. That equates to over 400 individuals.

This program started in 2007 as a quarterly event and one year later changing to monthly, with church and the Rabun County Realtors Association splitting the duties. Two years after that, Rabun Gap Presbyterian took over the program full time. The food ministry has been a wonderful success and is now one of the top food distributors of all the counties served by the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia.

Here are some statistics: In 2022, the church distributed 582,845 pounds of food. The church purchases the food from the food bank. Their cost in 2022 was $15,618.96. The estimated retail value of the food was a whopping $1,119,062.40.

Thank you James Brim at the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia and way to go Rabun Gap Presbyterian, Pastor Don Barber and the numerous volunteers who show up before sunrise in service to our community. I was there in February to take photos of these good folks doing good work. Several friends of mine were there, donating both their time and their money towards this good cause. It’s only fair that I give them a shout out: Chuck Williams, Bob Rose, Tom and Collin Lines and Dr. Laura West. It was biting cold that Saturday morning but I walked away with a very warm heart.