A new charitable drive by the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) is seeking to gather thousands of pounds of nonperishable groceries for people displaced or otherwise impacted by Hurricane Katrina.
The Family Food Box Project is not the usual type of food drive, either, according to organizers.
“We are asking participants to buy a specific list of items and place them in a specific size box,” said Mike Nuss, chairman of the Family Food Box Task Force.
Each food box should measure 16 3/8 inches by 12 5/8 inches by 12 5/8 inches — 1.5 cubic feet — and may usually be obtained for less than $2 at moving companies, self-storage facilities, pack-and-ship stores and larger office supply retailers.
The food for each box likely will cost between $50 and $75 and should include a particular list of items — all and only those listed (see page 5 for instructions and list).
“We know it may seem unusual to ask for only one box size and such a specific list of foods, but this kind of uniformity will allow us to plan for highly efficient transportation to strategic sites in some of the hardest-hit areas of Mississippi and perhaps Louisiana,” Nuss said.
Arrangements have already been made with several warehouses in Mississippi, where the boxes will be delivered in late October, said Rick Lance, SBOM executive director.
“During the first several days of initiating this project, we’ve been working to identify delivery points in Louisiana as well,” Lance said. “As communications and accessibility in Louisiana continue to improve, we believe it’s likely we’ll be able to send one or more truckloads there as well.”
He acknowledged that some people might ask whether boxes should also be sent to Mobile County, which sustained a severe blow from Katrina.
“Certainly there are needs still being met in Mobile County,” Lance said.
“But our efforts there have been intense for many days now. For example, Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers have already provided tens of thousands of meals to residents and displaced persons in Mobile County,” Lance said.
In addition, he noted, the SBOM continues to provide a variety of charitable assistance through a partnership with the 104 Southern Baptist churches of the Mobile Baptist Association.
Richard Alford, an associate in the SBOM office of associational missions and church planting, previously lived in Mississippi and grew up in Louisiana. “There’s no question we can make a significant difference in both of these sister states that are near and dear to my own heart,” he said.
“We invite all Alabamians to help us during the next few weeks as we get ready for this major initiative,” he continued. “When the trucks roll westward in late October, I believe we will see an unprecedented effort that demonstrates the generosity of our state.”
Participants in the Family Food Box Project will have until the third week of October to purchase the boxes and fill them with the requested items.
Collection of the boxes will take place Oct. 21, 12–5 p.m., and Oct. 22, 8 a.m.–3 p.m., in six locations across Alabama:
- Birmingham: Lakeside Baptist Church, 2865 Old Rocky Ridge Road
- Athens: Lindsay Lane Baptist Church, 1300 Lindsay Lane S.
- Oxford: Blue Springs Baptist Church, 2216 Alabama Highway 21 S.
- Tuscaloosa: Valley View Baptist Church, 8820 Highway 69 S.
- Montgomery: Taylor Road Baptist Church, 1685 Taylor Road
- Dothan: Calvary Baptist Church, 901 Montezuma Ave.
Additional details may be obtained by visiting www.alsbom.org, calling the Family Food Box Project office at 1-800-264-1225, Ext. 275, or e-mailing ekilpatrick@alsbom.org.
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