When there is a need, people of Albany seem to always find a way to help their neighbors in need.

Inside the borders of Clinton County, two separate groups are providing food to those in need. Roger and Sherry Owens, coordinators of Days of Grace Food Pantry Inc, and Bobby Grant, coordinator of Good Shepherd of Hope Ministries, are providing needy families with the means to help feed their families.

For several years now, retired pastor Grant has been working to help those in need. Since his retirement, Grant has started a ministry dedicated to helping those in Clinton County with food, clothing, and shelter.

He recently struck a deal to receive truck loads of food, mostly from Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, that is passed out to those in need. During his last food distribution, Good Shepherd of Hope Ministries passed out more than 7,000 pounds of food to people in Clinton County. Grant said a couple of loads he has received was more than 10,000 pounds.

“The food distribution is on the basis of when they get a truck load then they call me and I put it on the radio that night in order to let people know,” Grant said. “From the second week of November 2013 until now, we’ve had the opportunity to distribute more than 62,000 pounds of food.”

Grant said if people are in need of food, then they are welcome to come out when a load arrives.

“We have so many low income people here that it could cover about 80 percent of the county probably,” Grant said. “

Grant said contents of the food varies. He doesn’t know what he is getting, however, it is food that people need.

“It’s good quality food,” Grant said. “It’s a good thing to the county and I hope they can continue to do this. It’s a roving food pantry is what it is. In the surveys done, we are considered a red county, which means we are in need of stuff.”

Grant said he really appreciates the donations he receives for his ministry and for the food. He believes there is a strong need in the county for this type of service.

“I want to thank all my volunteers who work because I know the last time we handed food out it was fridged cold,” Grant said.

In the past, Grant said he has been handing out the food in the morning, but for the next load he receives, he said the times will change in order to accommodate some of the working families who need a little assistance.

“I’m going to hand out food from four in the afternoon until six in the afternoon, so working families can come,” Grant said.

Good Shepherd of Hope Ministries doesn’t just deal in food. Grant said he gets calls everyday of people needing other items in order to live.

“I gets calls about people needing assistance on electricity, rent, and I operate on a very small budget because I operate strictly on donations,” Grant said. “I am a 501(c)(3) company, which is non-profit and people can deduct donations from their taxes. I have a couple of churches which have put me in their budget and donate monthly. I greatly appreciate all the donations I receive.”

Grant said sometimes people have to make a choice on whether to eat or have heat and their pride goes to the wayside.

As a part of Grant’s ministry, he said he would like to get a permanent facility in Albany in order to help the people in Clinton County.

“I would like to have a place I could keep open at least four days a week,” Grant said. “I would like to have products available all the time for people and I’m hoping to apply for grants to help with that. My main goal is to help the people of Clinton County … That’s my number one goal.”

Grant said his dream is to have accommodations where he could put people in need of a place to stay.

“I would like to have three or four efficiency apartments to house people if they have a burn-out or to just help someone out until they get on their feet, and also have the facility there for food and other needs,” Grant said. “I’m not pushing that right now until I see what happens. I want to see if I can secure these grants.”

In the future, Grant said he would like to see a homeless shelter because he said there is a need for that.

“I’ve had to send three people to Tompkinsville because they have a facility … we don’t have a facility and they don’t even have one in Somerset. You are considered homeless if you don’t have a place to call a permanent residence. I’m going to make a trip shortly to Tompkinsville to see what we can do in having one here.”

Grant said the needs of homeless people in Clinton County is greater than some may realize.

“Last year I helped three families. One family was living in a barn and the other two were living in caves,” Grant said. “It’s not just here … it’s everywhere. There is a great need here and I’m glad to have the opportunity to do what little I do. I hope it helps people and that’s my goal, to help as many people as I can.”

Grant said he has had people from other counties come to Clinton County when he gets a load of food in, however, he can only provide for those who live in the county.

“I hate that, I really do, but I can only give to those in the county. Some counties won’t even accept the food because they don’t want to fool with it,” Grant said. “It’s strictly for people in Clinton County. I would hate for people to come a long way and not get anything.”

Another food pantry in Clinton County is run by Sherry and Roger Owens. The Owens’ have been operating their pantry since May 2013.

Sherry Owens said from May to December of last year, the pantry has passed out more than 4,000 boxes of food.

“We pass out food every Wednesday and I have a number on the door if anyone comes by and needs food, provided we have food at that time to give out,” Owens said. “God just laid it on our hearts and we were led to do it. It don’t take long for families to accumulate doctor bills and with the economy the way it is, especially with the winter the way it has been,, people has had five, six hundred dollar light bills … It’s either buy what they need or buy food and many people are going without food.”

It’s obvious there is a need for pantries in Clinton County. With the remarks both Owens and Grant receives from the people who get food, this is sometimes the only chance they have to eat each month.

“I’ve had some people tell me this is what they live off of during the week,” Owens said.

Days of Grace supplies food for anyone in need. Owens said they don’t ask any questions other than how many people are in their household.

“We just ask that they sign in,” Owens said. “We don’t check their income or anything like that.”

Owens said the food they hand out is first come first served.

“It’s the only way we think it can be fair to everyone,” Owens said.

Days of Grace has an office located on at 801 Tennessee Road, next to Albany Loan Company in South Albany.

“In the beginning we weren’t getting very many food donations,” Owens said. “The first week we went out and delivered to people we knew who needed it. The second week, after we delivered, we had 22 people and that came on just word of mouth.”

Owens said last week they had 175 people come to them on Wednesday.

“We have already given out more than 1,000 this year,” Owens said. “I would say 70 percent of the people who come to us are elderly people.”

Owens said she can already see the impact her food pantry has made on the people in Clinton County.

“Wherever you’re at, you see people who have come to you. We are not any better than the people we are passing the food out to. Anybody can get to the point to where they have to have something like this,” Owens said. “People come up to us, especially the elderly people, and want to hug us or tell us they appreciate us. We get letters and cards in the mail saying they appreciate what we do.”

Not only does Days of Grace provide for those in Clinton County. Owens said they will hand out food and clothing to whoever shows up.

“We’ve had people from Burkesville, Clinton County and Byrdstown come in,” Owens said.

In addition to food, Owens said they also take clothing and household items to pass out as well.

“We ask people just drop off clothing in front of the building. We are a 501(c)(3) company, so donations are tax deductible. People can mail monetary donations if they want to. People can also go to Save-A-Lot and buy groceries. Anthony (Dalton), manager at Save-A-Lot, is well associated with us. If people don’t want to give monetary donations, we have some churches that go out and buy food and bring it to us.”

If anyone would like to donate to the Good Shepherd of Hope Ministries or Days of Grace Food Pantry Inc., donations can be accepted at First and Farmer’s National Bank.

Days of Grace Food Pantry Inc., can be reached at 606-306-2781.

“Anything that is donated is put straight into the pantry,” Owens said.

For anyone wanting to donate or contact Good Shepherd of Hope Ministry, call 606-306-1567.