Apples are a welcome donation at shelter
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PARKERSBURG -- When the Rev. Frank Miller, director of Parchment Valley Conference Center in Ripley, received a call from the Jackson County Community Foundation saying it had six pallets of West Virginia-grown red delicious apples to donate, he said he knew he had an opportunity to help a lot of people in need.
After giving away a pallet in Ripley, he decided to bring 50 bushels of the apples to help the people of Wood County on Friday.
"I knew we had to move these," he said.
Due to their limited shelf life, Miller said he decided to contact the Parkersburg Salvation Army because he knew it assisted individuals every day, and wanted to help feed and pass on good nutrition to people in need.
"There's nothing better than giving a kid the gift of a healthy apple in a safe environment," he said.
Sherry Bartlett, head cook at the organization's shelter, said she knew the Red Cross couldn't use all the apples before they went bad, so she used her connections with other non-profits in the area to get the food to as many as possible.
"They've already contacted three organizations that are coming to pick up apples," Miller said as he stacked the last of the bushels in the Parkersburg shelter.
"If the blessings come, we're going to pass those blessings onto as many people as we can," said Major Patrick Richard of the Salvation Army.
He said the Boys and Girls Club of Parkersburg, the Friendship Kitchen and Old Man Rivers were on their way on Friday to pick up their share of the apples. Richard, who just took over the Parkersburg Salvation Army in June, said he was impressed with the charity that the area has shown his organization during his short tenure.
"It hasn't stopped giving. It doesn't matter if it's clothes, time or financially," he said. "That has truly been an awesome thing to see."
Bartlett said the Salvation Army provides a supper at 5 p.m., seven days a week to anybody that comes to the shelter at 534 Fifth St. She said the apples will be a welcome addition to the chili and egg salad sandwiches that were being served at Friday's supper.
After Miller finished visiting with Bartlett and got into his truck to leave, his sweat-soaked shirt indicated more than just that hard work had been done in the July heat. It also showed like a badge of honor earned from fighting hunger in the region.
Chad Adkins can be reached at cadkins@newsandsentinel.com.