Complete the Mission Food Drive set for Sept. 30
Bernie Lyons, commanding officer of the Mid-Ohio Valley Platoon of the Marine Corps Veterans Association (left) and Gospel Mission Food Pantry owner Candy Waite talk about the pantry’s supply shelves. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
Gospel Mission Food Pantry owner Jeff Waite greets visitors with his dog on his lap. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
Bernie Lyons, commanding officer of the Mid-Ohio Valley Platoon of the Marine Corps Veterans Association (left) and Gospel Mission Food Pantry owner Candy Waite talk about the pantry’s supply shelves. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
Gospel Mission Food Pantry owner Jeff Waite greets visitors with his dog on his lap. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
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MARIETTA -- Numerous local veterans groups will join forces to gather needed resources through community donations.
The fourth annual Complete the Mission Food Drive will take place Sept. 30 at 700 Channel Lane from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Donations will benefit the Gospel Mission Food Pantry.
The drive, cosponsored by the Mid-Ohio Valley Platoon of the Marine Corps Veterans Association and the Marietta Times, started from a need.
"The food for a lot of folks was getting tight, and the economy was beginning to change a little. It's gotten considerably worse over the past couple of years. The need for help is increasing tremendously," Bernie Lyons, commanding officer of the Mid-Ohio Valley Platoon of the Marine Corps Veterans Association, said.
Lyons contacted Jeff and Candy Waite of Gospel Mission Food Pantry and asked if they needed help. Candy said yes. Lyons also invited the Times to participate.
"I spoke to Jim Spanner, (publisher) and Christina Myer (executive editor). They loved the idea. They know the need is there and wanted to help," he said.
The day of the drive, a drive thru drop off line will be set up at the old Times office. Volunteers will take the donations. At the end of the day, supplies will be transported to Gospel Mission.
Waite said the mission sees a lot of veterans come to the pantry.
"(Veterans) are always greeted with a handshake and thank you for what you did for our country," she said. "We love and respect our veterans."
Waite said within the first three weeks of August, 60 of 1,717 visitors to the pantry were veterans. Of the visitors, 83 individuals were first time visitors, 115 single parents, 488 disabled, 136 were 65 and older, and 45 Bibles were handed out.
Waite said food drives such as the Complete the Mission Food Drive allow them to serve the community.
"We rely and depend on the community to help us help others," she said. "We don't get any funding that restricts us from handing out Bibles."
Gospel Mission started in 2009 on a spiritual calling, Waite said.
"This is what God needs us to do. The kids were grown. I told God, I have time on my hands.If you can use me, use me. And this is what he called us into this ministry," she said.
Waite said the pantry spent several years without heat and water. Anonymous donors allowed them to install both services in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Waite said the hardship was worth it.
"I've always thought of others before me," she said. "My mission, my goal, was to show those who were sent to us the fruits of the spirit: love, gentleness, kindness, goodness."
Gospel Mission doesn't require income verification in order to receive donations. Waite said they serve a variety of individuals: elderly, single parents, teenagers, and children.
She added, "We provide food, we provide clothes, we provide shoes. Anything that we try to take care of ourselves with, we try to provide them with it."
Kristen Hainkel can be contacted at khainkel@newsandsentinel.com