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Long before the threat of the coronavirus, the volunteers of Bush Baptist Church have set out to help the needy families in the Pike County area.

The members of Bush, partnering the Montgomery Area Food Bank, helped feed over 165 families on Friday morning.

The mobile food pantry allows needy families to receive food without ever leaving their cars.

The food distribution is usually held every other month at Bush Baptist Church. It’s an event that has been held for approximately 10 years.

“This is just a practical way to be the body of Christ to our community,” said program coordinator Ellis Bush. “It’s a way to serve the people in our community. With people on a fixed income, to be able to provide food for them really helps. We find this to be a very practical way to be the hands and feet of Christ in our community.”

Volunteers usually include church members, but the food distribution often has high school and college students on hand to help as well.

“I think for the volunteers, it gives them a chance to express their beliefs in a real tangible way,” Bush said. “So often we spend our time studying our faith, this gives us a chance to actually do our faith and I think that’s just really fulfilling and rewarding.”

Volunteers on hand have the opportunity to not only serve the people of Pike County, but to create new relationships as well.

“It gives them an opportunity to make new friends,” Bush said, “Meet new people who in their every day life, or jobs or school, may not meet. That’s a neat experience and it helps the community draw closer together.”

The volunteers took extra precautions on Friday due to the threat of the coronavirus. While some may have looked to cancel the event, the opportunity to help the community was too big of an opportunity to pass up.

“Perhaps even next time there will be an even greater need,” Bush said. “We took every precaution to be careful. People stayed in their car and we tried to use gloves. We tried to do it very smartly, but we also didn’t want to cancel it. If you look at history, Christians have a really good record of helping people out during times of crises. I think this is exactly what we ought to be doing. We do not need to be backing away from helping people out just because we are concerned and afraid.”

The next food distribution is scheduled for May 1. For more information people can call the church office at 334-566-4141.