Let them eat

Palm Coast Observer
Neighbors

Bette Rountree is not “Old Mother Hubbard,” but her cupboards were bare at the Flagler County Rescource Center food pantry on Friday, May 13.

But what a difference a day makes. By 7:30 Saturday night, Rountree, president of Church Women United, and 35 volunteers were locking the doors of a fully stocked food pantry after a very successful food drive by the National Association of Letter Carriers.

On Saturday, letter carriers across the country were picking up more than mail. They were picking up donations of non-perishable food items to be donated to the food banks within the community.

The different pantries were assigned to each postal district in the county, and while there was some initial distribution confusion at the Palm Coast post office, Rountree and her team waited it out.

“We waited outside the post office for the trucks to come in,” Rountree said. “We were there with people from Lifecoast Church, Mt. Calvary Baptist, and Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic food pantries.”

“I weigh our distribution not by pounds, but by the people we are serving.” Flagler Rescource Center Director, Bette Rountree.

Rountree and her group decided they were there for the long haul and would wait until the last truck came in from deliveries – after 7 p.m. She had nine vehicles making trips from the post office to the food pantry in Bunnell. She quickly lost count of how many trips they made during the day.

“The carriers park in a lot in the back and when it was 99% full that's when we left,” Rountree said. “I was determined that no donation would go to waste. There were 35 volunteers working at the food pantry in Bunnell unloading cars and putting food away.”

The mail routes took longer, as drivers returned to the post office during the day to drop off the food donations.

“The people in Palm Coast are very generous and the postal workers are great,” Rountree said. “It's more work for them, but they know it goes to a good cause.”

Church Women United has been operating the Flagler Resource Center (under a variety of names) for the past 34 years. The number of people being served is not decreasing, but Rountree said she has seen a change in demographics.

“We are averaging 225-250 families each month, during the eight hours a week we are open,” Rountree said. “We are seeing more seniors and fewer families with young children. We still see the younger children, but many are families with adult children living with them, and older people on a fixed income.”

Rountree didn't know how many pounds of food she was able to stock her pantry with, but she said with continuing donations, it should keep the shelves stocked into July.

“I weigh our distribution not by pounds, but by the people we are serving,” Rountree said.