Safia Temple No. 188 Helps Food Fank Post-Hurricane Michael

Contributed by IP Marvin Hughley Safia Temple No. 188 Panama City, Fla.

Since September 2019, Safia Temple No. 188 has volunteered 28 hours each month serving the community at the 2nd Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church Food Bank in Bay County, Florida. The volunteerism began because of Hurricane Michael.

On October 10, 2018, the sleepy town of Panama City was plush with pine and oak forests, so thick nearly every street had a canopy of shade for relaxing with a cold Mason jar of sweet tea. A storm was predicted a few days earlier. That storm became the first Category 5 hurricane to hit the contiguous United States since Andrew, in 1992. As a result, nearly every home and business suffered 30 to 80 percent structural damage. Citizens were displaced, hospitals shut down except for some emergency services, grocery stores had limited supplies and hours, drugstores resorted to temporary trailers and tents, power lines and trees covered the streets.

One year later, the landscape was scarred with vacant lots where homes once stood. Many residents could not wait a year for housing or apartment markets to recover, so they relocated to support their families. In the vein of perseverance and uplift, the Food Bank began distributing food each week. The demand for sustenance was so great, its days of operation increased to three days a week. One day, Food Bank Director Toni Gainer asked Noble Byron Calton to help volunteer and has Calton has continues to serve. The Food Bank feeds more than 500 families each month. Pastor Rev. Rawls Leslie said it best, “Sometimes all you need is two trailers, a little faith, and a whole lot of love.”