‘It lifts my spirit’ [The Wilson Daily Times, N.C.]

Nov. 24--Daylight began to break. The clouds that brought the dreary rain began to move over Wilson's downtown streets.

And several blocks away, a crowd emerged around the corners of East Vance and Reid streets. Some stood along the iron-rod fence that surrounds the building, which has provided hope in a bag of food for several decades. Howard Jones, founder and president of OIC, emerged from the front doors, watching as people from all walks of life spilled over into the streets.

"We were praying for the rain to stop," Jones said to several people in line.

"That's why I'm soaked," Francene Grant told him.

'PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY'

Grant's jacket is wet. Her white sneakers squeaked from her water-soaked socks. Her gray pants barely begin to dry off. But she needs the food.

"It helps a lot, especially when you can't afford to buy food."

Grant was just one of hundreds who secured their place in line for OIC's quarterly emergency food distribution on Wednesday.

Grant doesn't come to all of the distributions due to a disability, but Wednesday was different.

"I was able to get up and get the food I need," she said.

She was grateful for it.

"It's (a) wonderful thing they do to help us out," she said. "We are poor and need help. Some of these people are hungry, homeless, disabled and need food."

Wilson's hungry received peaches, fig pieces, corn, sweet potatoes, peanut butter, cereal, beef stew, whole chickens, leg quarters, collards, bacon, cakes and muffins. Those items were a mixture of donated food and the commodities OIC received from the N.C. Department of Agriculture. With the community's help, those in need received nearly double the amount of food this time compared to September's distribution.

"I need another quarter," one volunteer yelled out packing chicken in a bag. Bright-colored collards filled brown bags. Nearly 3,500 pounds of them from Deans Farm Market were given out Wednesday. Smithfield Packing and Sara Lee Corp. also donated enough food to feed around 2,500 people.

'I DON'T GET MUCH HELP'

Sadie Mercer didn't have a chair, only a walker. She propped herself up on the fence, waiting for the doors to open. She had a light pink plastic bag in tow.

"I had this bag over my head so I wouldn't get wet," said Mercer. But the 77-year-old woman needed that food. She stood in the rain. Her hips ache.

"I don't get much help," she said.

The humble woman sat quietly, but grateful for what would appear behind those doors. Mercer gets $16 a month in food stamps. And while she's grateful for the little bit she does get, the amount doesn't stretch far.

"It's expensive," she said softly about the price of food.

By the time she pays her insurance and utility bills, she's left with $45. She struggles when it comes to food.

"If it weren't for the Lord, blessing me through friends, I don't know what I would do," she said about food insecurity. Her voice trails off.

"It lifts my spirit and brings me to tears sometimes," she said wiping the tears away from her cheeks.

It's only 7:42 a.m.

Her friends call her to make sure she has everything she needs.

"That makes me feel so happy," she said. "They show me love."

This is only her second time, she said, visiting the distribution. She worked 50 years at a local restaurant, but due to her hip problem, she hasn't been able to work since last year.

'IT DOES YOUR HEART GOOD'

Downstairs in the OIC basement, volunteers hustled. Some tore down large brown cardboard boxes while others handed a yellow plastic bag to those in need. They were filled with a homegrown treat and a Thanksgiving mainstay -- sweet potatoes.

Those 4,000 pounds of sweet potatoes were donated by Vicks Family Farm in Wilson.

Volunteer Garland Shepheard of Tarboro passed them out.

"Happy Thanksgiving," Shepheard said to those walking through the line.

Shepheard's wife, who works for Sen. Richard Burr's office, was also volunteering Wednesday.

"I know what it's like not to have anything," Shepheard said. "I grew up poor, too. Everybody is not blessed with everything in the world."

He said he couldn't stand the thought of people going without food this Thanksgiving. And the commitment OIC has made for decades is special.

"It does your heart good," he said. "It means a lot that they are willing to take care of people."

While Shepheard has volunteered at other places throughout the years, he said, he has never seen the issue of hunger on such a scale.

Alex Fleck, a student at N.C. State University, was home for Thanksgiving break. He tagged along with his father, who works at Merck Pharmaceuticals, and also volunteered. He said it had been several years since he had been to OIC to volunteer.

"There is definitely a greater need," Fleck said. "In college you kind of get disconnected from the rest of the world. It's an eye-opener."

He said he often takes for granted the availability of food he has in his reach. "But here, it's just totally different from the rest of the world," he said. "It feels great to give back. It's just a good feeling inside."

'THANK YOU MR. JONES'

More than 150 volunteers helped in all aspects of the distribution, including Merck, Glaxo Smith-Kline, Bridgestone Americas and others from within the community. Eastern Carolina Chiropractic Center on Nash Street donated a variety of canned and non-perishable food items as well as Wilson's 4-H'ers, both of which volunteered, too.

As the morning hours passed, hundreds continued to line up.

Howard Jones was again among the people waiting for at least a 35-pound bag of food. He smiled as he gazed into the hungry crowd.

"I'm sorry you have to stand out here in this line," Jones told them, adding in about 20 minutes they would be inside getting that bag of food.

"Thank you guys for waiting," he said. "Hopefully, you will have a nice Thanksgiving."

Jones continued walking down the line asking each person how they were doing. As he turned to walk back inside, several expressed their gratitude. Jones smiled, knowing they would have food on their table Wednesday night. His life's purpose: Helping people help themselves. Then a woman yelled out at the top of her lungs.

"Thank you, Mr. Jones," she said. "Happy Thanksgiving."

[email protected] -- 265-7879

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(c)2011 The Wilson Daily Times (Wilson, N.C.)

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