His Compassion: A Community’s Bounty

HIS Compassion: A Community’s Bounty Local food bank meets a high standard for efficiency and volume of distribution

BY CARLTON REESE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY RALPH DEMILIO

The dark silence of 3 a.m. suddenly breaks with the sounds of diesel engines roaring to life. The trucks that start the day long before the sun has granted its permission warm up for a journey that culminates in the feeding of hungry people. It resembles a major food distributorship, but it is actually an all-volunteer army at His Compassion, a charity food bank where no one from foot soldier to four-star general accepts a single dime in compensation.

The original goal, berthed in love and care for one’s fellow man in need, seemed subdued and not so unattainable: feed 30 hungry families at the Living Waters Church in Ocala. Wrought from this humble mission was the embodiment of the mustard seed parable itself – a grain of goodwill sprouted into a colossal giving tree measured not in tens or hundreds, but in millions.

On any Tuesday or Thursday, one may bear witness to the grand scale of charity on display at His Compassion Food Bank, where last year 13.1 million pounds of food were distributed to families of Marion and surrounding counties. Such volume is a far cry from whence the program began in 1998.

At its inception, the mission was to bring food to a number of church family members who the congregation noticed were in dire need. Embracing the mission as more of a calling, the church’s food drive quickly evolved into a food bank that would require a new building in 2007, then the latest expansion to a 28,000-square foot facility in 2016. No longer just a site for handing out food, His Compassion has become a vast distribution network that involves other churches and food banks.

The trucks head out to suppliers located not just in the Ocala area, but to Jacksonville, Milton, Gainesville, Tampa and as far away as Miami. They return with a bounty that is then distributed to various churches and food banks in all parts of Marion County, including the His Compassion hub on North Jacksonville Road.

From meals for just 30 families in 1998, His Compassion has created a system of such monumental efficiency that it is on pace to distribute around 24 million pounds of food in 2021, clearly a sign of the bitter economic

...last year 13.1 million pounds of food were distributed to families

toll endured through the pandemic.

“We get our product through relationships we’ve built through the years with different distribution centers and other food banks,” says Joy Guydan, who organizes volunteers for His Compassion. Food comes mainly from the distribution centers and companies like Tyson Foods and others. There are also nearby egg farms that have become suppliers as well as food banks in Ocoee and Jacksonville that distribute USDA farm-to-family boxes.

“We have a good, clean reputation so they keep giving us more,” Guydan said. “There’ve been other food banks that have been cut out of their lists and we’ve been given more because of it.”

The list of suppliers kept growing and now His Compassion is able to deliver not just enormous volumes of food, but a variety that did not exist before as food banks all seemed to rely on the same suppliers.

It all makes the days of the typical school can food drive seem irrelevant with such volume and precision involved, but His Compassion is still happy to receive donations from other churches and organizations on a regular basis. What mainly keeps things going are donations of money and time.

Even those waiting in line to receive food often donate several dollars, and every little bit helps. There are trucks to repair, fuel to be purchased and utility bills to be paid. As such, 100 percent of monetary donations go to operating

Each car has its trunk filled with 80-90 pounds of food.

costs and none to employee salaries.

Guydan claims that every week around 400 families are served at His Compassion, and that does not include those being delivered to its own remote clients and served at around 112 different agencies in six counties.

Cars run through His Compassion from 9:30-11:30 every Tuesday and Thursday picking up dry goods, produce and even meat and chicken – all quality products with plenty of shelf life. Among the cars is an elderly couple with children in Ohio. They routinely come through His Compassion and about once a month drive food to their families in need up north.

Guydan notes that at times the car lines have backed up nearly a mile to SR 326.

“We’ve been around 15 years, but still a lot of people don’t know us,” Guydan said. “We’re God-based; we don’t do anything unless our board and our volunteers take it to God first. We pay no salaries, so we’re able to do a lot more with less money.

“These are the hardest working people I’ve ever met – people who get paid don’t work as hard as these volunteers do. It’s a call-

ing that everyone has to help the community.”

Most volunteers work with their hands loading boxes and distributing on-site, but others help out in what Guydan calls her force of “Prayer Warriors.” Those who are not physically able to help are able to join a prayer team that routinely calls on clients to check up on them and inquire about their well-being.

“They’re thrilled to have someone call them and ask about them,” Guydan said.

Also part of the network is a large yard sale that provides funding for His Compassion. Twice monthly, the sale takes place on Jacksonville Road and includes not only typical yard sale items that are used, but also many new items – all products of donations such as wheelchairs, scooters, bikes, shampoos, hand sanitizers, vitamins, over-thecounter medicines and more.

“We have to keep those trucks moving, and the (yard) sales help fund that,” Guydan said.

In the end, everything comes down to the mission of feeding hungry people in need, specifically those in Marion County. To do this, a fleet of five trucks operates seemingly nonstop and scores of volunteers ensure the lifeblood of the organization. From hands on deck to prayer warriors and even those submitting recipes relevant to the products distributed, devout volunteerism makes it all work.

People wanting to volunteer can go the organization’s web site, hiscompassionflorida.org, where a registration form can be filled out and even donations made.

Help feed the hungry

A fund-raising campaign with a goal of $250,000 is under way for the Ocala-based His Compassion, a regional food bank serving feeding programs and churches across several North Central Florida counties. Ocala Magazine is proud to be among the first donors to this worthy cause and urges its readers to also give.

Donations can be made by going to His Compassion’s website at www.hiscompassionflorida.org, or you can just scan the adjacent QR code, which will take you to the website.

THE CAMPAIGN HAS THREE PRINCIPAL GOALS:

1) To give local residents a way to help purchase food for the hungry in our community. His

Compassion started at Living Waters Church on U.S. 441 North in 1998 to help a handful of church families who were in need. Over the years, it has grown exponentially, especially since the start of the pandemic. This year, the organization is projected to distribute 24 million pounds of food to thousands of hungry families in our region.

Donors can feed a family of four for a month by making a $120 donation – that’s $4 a day. Or, if you want to feed one person, the cost is $30, or $1 a day. Of course, any donation, no matter the amount, is welcome.

2) Because His Compassion relies on food distribution programs as far away as Miami,

Orlando and Jacksonville to supply its program, and it must distribute that food across multiple counties in North Central

Florida, it needs trucks. It recently acquired three trucks but needs to pay them off. Some of the money raised through the campaign will go toward helping to achieve this goal. 3) Finally, because of its explosive growth over the past few years, the all-volunteer His

Compassion is having to expand its storage facility here in Ocala.

$250,000 GOAL

So far, $24,000

has been raised toward the $250,000 goal.