You don’t get paid, they need you regularly, the work can be hard and it’s not always appreciated, but it may be the most satisfying job you ever do.
The Care Station recently went from one-day-a-week food preparation to three days a week and if they can find enough volunteers, they will return to their pre-COVID-19 five-day-a-week schedule of providing food to the hungry.
Care Station hosted their monthly mobile food pantry distribution Tuesday and the hundreds of vehicles that lined up seeking food indicate there are still a lot of hungry people in Clarksdale.
“All last year and even at the height of COVID we never stopped,” said Care Station volunteer Rod Spinks. “We’re beginning to come out of this, but we’re not quite ready to make that step to be back where we were.”
People have always counted on food from Care Station when they couldn’t count on getting it anywhere else. Spinks said once Care Station goes back to full time, they have to be prepared to sustain that ministry.
Spinks said just about anyone can be a Care Station volunteer.
“Whatever your skill-set is, we can use it,” said Spinks. “Right now we need people who can serve food and those who can run a food distribution route.”
Care Station was feeding people five days a week, 50 weeks a year, prior to COVID. Care Station was preparing about 245 meals a day and food bags each Friday. That totals over 61,000 meals per year.
They were also feeding about 50 to 60 homeless people daily on site at their location smack in the middle of downtown Clarksdale.
And Care Station was doing it with 75 volunteer drivers who shared five routes. The police and fire departments also helped deliver two routes to local apartment complexes.
A meal includes a meat, vegetables, fruit and bread. A weekend care sack consisting of snacks, fruit, canned food and bread is handed out each Friday to tide people over until Monday.
The logistics of this process can be daunting.
Rosie Dulaney is in charge of processing food and specifically produce that comes to Care Station.
“We sort about 400 pounds of produce and baked good and we need some young people who can lift and process that food,” said Dulaney. “We’ve had youth from the Mennonite Church and from Lee Academy help us, but the more we have the lighter the work.”
The ability to show college entrance boards that you are involved in the community can be critical to earning a college scholarship and looks great on a resume. Dulaney said any student who shows up can be quickly trained to play a key role in Care Station.
Spinks praised the volunteers who stuck with them through one of the organizations most trying times.
“If your church, Sunday School class or civic club is looking for a project that makes a difference in the lives of people every day, Care Station is the place,” said Spinks. “I don’t promise it will be easy, but I do promise there is a lot of satisfaction in making a difference in the lives of people in Clarksdale.”
So how do you get involved with Care Station? They can be reached by phone at 662-902-7335, Emailed at thecarestation@gmail.com or be found feeding the hungry in Clarksdale at the Care Station at 318 John Hooker Drive.
