Time to replenish

The St. Mary Magdalen Christian Service Center in Abbeville has given away more than 517,000 pounds of food through the first 11 months of 2014.
The number would be much higher if the center had more to give away.
“The shelves have been pretty bare lately,” said Deacon Randy Hyde, who runs the center. “There have been days when we have run out.
“We had to close last Wednesday because we did not have anything.”
That came after the center helped nearly 200 families on Monday and Tuesday.
The center replenished empty shelves to some extent Friday with canned goods, as well as potatoes and apples, available for those in need.
Walmart in Abbeville donated 1,200 pounds of potatoes and 600 pounds of apples.
“They called and asked if we wanted them,” Hyde said. “I told them I was on my way.
“It’s a beautiful thing when a business comes through for us like that.”
Individuals around Vermilion Parish will have an opportunity to help the Christian Service Center this Tuesday as part of the annual FoodNet food drive. Hyde and around 20 volunteers will be at Winn Dixie in Abbeville taking in as many donations as possible.
“We are going to be out there at 5 a.m.,” Hyde said. “We will be out there all day.”
The group will collect food until around 6:30 p.m.
“It’s going to be a very important day for us,” Hyde said. “We need as many people who can contribute to do so.”
What is needed is simple.
“Whatever they can bring,” Hyde said, “we take it. Whether that is canned goods, or even monetary donations, we need every bit of it.”
This is the first year the Christian Service Center is conducting the food drive at Winn Dixie, which is located at 2210 Veterans Memorial Dr. in Abbeville. Hyde said he feels the store provides an ideal location.
“I am very thankful that we will be able to hold it there,” Hyde said. “It is very conducive for someone who has maybe forgotten about the drive, to just go and run inside the store and by something to donate. People who are shopping that day will also have the opportunity to donate.
“Someone giving us a bag of rice can make a big difference.”
The drive has made impacts on the Christian Service Center’s mission in recent years.
“People donated somewhere around 16,000 pounds last year,” Hyde said.
The hope each year is to top the previous one.
“If we have the number of people show up who normally show up from around Vermilion Parish,” Hyde said, “it should be a very successful drive. We just pray that is the case.
““I am expecting it to be just as beautiful as it has always been.”
Timing is a factor for this year’s drive.
“They moved it up a week,” Hyde said. “It’s just right after Thanksgiving, so we are hoping that does not have any effect on it. I think it may have a positive effect on it, because we just finished having Thanksgiving and hopefully we can be thankful for things that we have, that others don’t have.”