Local church provides food, clothing to those in need

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Volunteers at St. Andrew Baptist Christian Care are filling a need in the community.

“With the inflation that we’re seeing and the food price increases, we are seeing an uptick,” said St. Andrew Baptist Christian Care manager John Dye. “We’re adding several people every day, so the number of people that we serve a day is going up as well.”

They’re serving people by providing food and clothing to the less fortunate.

“Since the hurricane, obviously so many people lost so much, and so, the clothing that we have is so essential for the people who come in every single day,” said clothing drive manager Jan Dye.

The low temperatures are also causing an increase in demand for coats and blankets.

The food drive and clothing program wouldn’t be possible without the help of donations.

“It’s amazing,” Jan said. “Every time we get really down on one section of clothing, they’ll knock on the door and they’ll say ‘Hey, I’ve got these clothes,” and it’s exactly what we need that day.”

People who run the program said they provide food to 65 to 70 families a day. It used to be 45 to 50 families a day before the pandemic hit.

Roughly 35 to 45 families visit the center a day to receive clothing. “There’s one person who represents eight to ten people in a family, so really that number’s multiplied,” Jan said.

Volunteers and donations are always needed at the center - especially during increased inflation and the winter months.

The program runs every Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

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