THOMASVILLE — Its Thanksgiving food distribution not only allows Second Harvest of South Georgia to provide people with enough to stock their shelves, it’s also a valuable training tool for the organization.

Now, all that practice is being put to the test — and use.

Second Harvest of South Georgia, backed by a contingent of Georgia State Defense Force volunteers, held a food distribution Friday at Thomas County Central High School, putting boxes of food in hundreds of vehicles.

“We are hearing a lot from people who said they haven’t had to ask for assistance before, and they’re embarrassed,” said Eliza McCall, Second Harvest of South Georgia chief marketing officer. “They’re working families. That’s one thing we are trying to push, we are trying to make sure that this is nothing to be ashamed of. This is why we are here, to make sure our neighbors in need get what they need.”

While Second Harvest volunteers and staff took names of the vehicles and passengers, they didn’t ask for proof of income. 

For some of those in line, it wasn’t a matter of funds, McCall said.

“We had two families tell us they had the money to buy groceries,” she said. “They just can’t find the groceries to buy.”

There also were teachers in line, procuring food for their students whose families had no transportation to go get food. 

Cars were lined up back onto Frank Delaney Parkway, from the high school halfway to County Line Road mid-morning. There were approximately 1,700 boxes available for distribution at the start of the day. 

Those in line could pick up a pantry box, full of non-perishable items, or a box of apples, oranges, pork, rice and frozen corn.

A box of non-perishable items includes such staples as peanut butter, potatoes, tomato soup, lentils, rice, corn, green beans and spaghetti in sauce.

Second Harvest had been keeping an eye on COVID-19 and its potential impacts since early February, McCall acknowledged. 

“Thankfully, we had a lot of inventory when all of this started,” she said. “We are very well placed right now to be able to provide this response. But the need has been drastically increased.”

For just its Valdosta branch, there was a 162 percent increase in demand in March.

“And that was only two weeks of this pandemic,” McCall said. 

The need, she pointed out, is not going to lessen anytime soon.

“Even if the viral portion is contained, the economic impact is going to continue,’ McCall said. “So you have a food insecurity crisis that is compounded.”

The State Defense Force members came from across the state and most of them had been helping Second Harvest for a week.

“They are here out of the goodness of their hearts,” McCall said. 

They helped put together the boxes to hand out, and that meant 18,000 in a week or roughly 85 boxes every 11 minutes.

Second Harvest isn’t asking for volunteer help at the time, in order to cut down on the exposure.

“We are trying to make sure everybody is as protected as they can be,” McCall said.

For those who want to help, though, they can donate to feedingsga.org. A non-perishable box costs $5, and donors can sponsor a box or multiple boxes. Each box weighs 20 pounds and can feed a family of four for a week.

McCall said Second Harvest also wants to bring a sense of normalcy to homes, with kids being able to eat an apple or an orange.

“We try to do this in a way that preserves people’s dignity,’ she said. “We want to make sure that it is a comfortable situation.”

Second Harvest is working with Thomas County Schools and Thomasville City Schools on feeding school kids during spring break next week. Their regular distribution puts them in Thomasville on the first Friday of each month and in Tifton on the second Friday, though that schedule will change with Good Friday coming. 

For the hundreds of cars and drivers who wound their way through Thomas County Central High School on Friday morning, there wasn’t much of a wait, even with the extended line of vehicles.

“It has gone very, very smoothly,” McCall said. “Everybody has been very, very grateful and it’s been a cheerful atmosphere, which is wonderful. Everybody we have come in contact with, it’s made them more mindful, I think. We’ve seen kindness and gratitude and graciousness, which is wonderful.”

Editor Pat Donahue can be reached at (229) 226-2400 ext. 1806.