Brother Bobby Grant and the Good Shepherd of Hope Ministries have been helping feed the hungry for more than 20 years.

Recently, with the COVID-19 pandemic, he has had to rethink his distribution methods and has come up with a drive-thru system that seems to work well on the second Tuesday of every month at the Clinton County Community Center.

Grant came to the NEWS Monday morning with a heavy heart about people in the community who need help with food.

“I had a family last week whose husband passed away,” Grant said. “Most of the people around here live paycheck to paycheck and when one of those paychecks is gone, it’s really hard on them. One family I helped last week said they hadn’t eaten in three days.”

Although Grant has been working under the Good Shepherd of Hope Ministries he started more than 20 years ago, personally, his goals have been helping those in any kind of need, whether it be with shelter, food, or other household items, for almost 28 years.

“Addressing the hunger situation in our county, and I know a lot of people see that and say ‘that’s not so,’ but, last week alone, I helped three families.”

Grant said at the community center he is in desperate need of volunteers to help out with the commodities once a month.

“If it weren’t for Christy Nuetzman and her crew from the Clinton County Extension Office, I don’t know what I would do,” Grant said. “It’s hard work and they are there every time to help.”

Grant said he is wanting to reach out to the businesses and churches in town to see if anyone would like to volunteer to help sort and pass out commodities.

“It takes us all day on Mondays to bag that stuff up,” Grant said. “We are seeking volunteers. If we could get some other volunteers to help us some, that would be great. It would be great publicity for any organization who wanted to help. I’ve done this for 27 years and I want to get more people involved and I want a greater awareness out there.”

Grant said he feeds around 700 people every month by passing out commodities.

“Most of the food I get is canned or boxed,” Grant said. “We are a poor county and, with the prices of things now, sometimes ends don’t meet.”

Along with Nuetzman and other U.K. Extension Office agents, Grant said April Speck with the Industrial Development Authority, Court Designated Worker Michelle Sawyers, and Emily Craig of the Albany Elementary Family Resource Center help Grant with the community center commodities.

“The mayor and the judge have been really good to offer their services and employees. The police help us to keep the traffic in check. You know, if you get here early, they are lined up all the way down the street. For two hours it’s a constant moving of vehicles. We average right at 700 people and some times it’s more than that.”

Grant said due to the coronavirus, people don’t even have to get out of their vehicles and with everything already packaged up, they put it in their cars as people drive through.

“There’s no way we could social distance them even if we were in the building,” Grant said. “Those people who are retired, elderly or widowed, it gives them a little extra cash that they can use during the month. I know some of those little ladies get 50 pounds of food a month and they know how to stretch it. This time we are going to give out milk and cheese.”

Grant said the more items they can hand out the more money it frees up, so their money isn’t spent just on groceries.

“I just want people to be aware,” Grant said. “Our county is pretty good to support, but we definitely need volunteer workers.”

Hours of operation are every second Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. until around 9:30 or 10 a.m., depending on how quickly the line moves according to Grant.

The next commodity day will be Tuesday, August 11.

Second Harvest is the food bank used for the commodities.

If anyone would like to donate to the Good Shepherd of Hope Ministries or would like to volunteer to help pass out commodities, you can call or text Grant at 606-306-1567.