Mobile food pantry ready to roll in Lexington County

The food pantry operated by Lexington Interfaith Community Services is hitting the road.

Delivery of produce and groceries to the needy – meat will be added later –starts Monday, with selected churches serving as drop-off sites.

It will come in a minivan that once carried daycare tots now converted into a small supermarket on wheels.

The mobile pantry is a longtime dream of the 37-year-old nonprofit organization’s leaders to improve help given struggling families who lack transportation to its headquarters in Lexington.

“This is a huge blessing,” executive director Robin Bowers said.

The vehicle will carry food monthly for 75 people per drop-off site, she said.

Overall, the pantry has fed nearly 4,300 persons this year scattered across the 758-square-mile county. Its focus is on assisting those who are disabled and elderly.

The mobile pantry was made possible by a $25,000 donation from a foundation associated with the House of Raeford, a poultry producer with operations in West Columbia and Batesburg-Leesville.

It’s the start of a partnership aimed at providing more protein and a greater variety of food to the needy, company spokesman Chuck Underhill said.

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 8:12 PM with the headline "Mobile food pantry ready to roll in Lexington County."