Bobbi Jo Robinson is carrying and Debra Durr is loading the heavy boxes of food which are to be given out. Other Lions Club members are working fast in the background.
Atlanta Lions Club
The Atlanta Lions Club has partnered with Brookshire’s for a number of years to participate in and complete a Spirit of Christmas Food Drive.
Each year, some 100 to 125 dinner boxes with a two sacks of food items and also containing a hen or turkey will be gathered and given out at Mission Atlanta.
“It’s for the needful family, many of whom may not have a Christmas meal,” Lions Club President Billy Hensley said.
Money for the project is raised throughout the year but especially by selling shopping bags at Brookshire’s for $5 to store customers and visitors. Brookshire’s then contributes other food items, often the hens or turkeys which make up a large part of the food gift.
“We’ve had this program practically ever since Brookshire’s has had a store here,” Hensley explained. “The food line is prepared with paper work and all by Mission Atlanta. We don’t know who the individuals and families are, just their names. Their names are put on a list, and they come when informed. It’s something we love doing,” Hensley said.
Lions Club member Travis Ransom explained that the Lions Club is a service organization. The club’s motto is, “We serve.”
“Sometimes usually between Thanksgiving and Christmas you’ll see us in our vests maybe outside or just inside the door asking if the customer will contribute $5 for the bag to support the food drive,” Ransom said.
“So the community is really the one which makes the drive possible. We think we feed about 300 families during the holidays. This food allows the person to boost up their pantry a bit.”