Atkins Food Pantry:
For almost 10 years Blue Ridge students have had a long standing community service partnership with the Atkins food Pantry in Atkins, Virginia. The Food pantry takes place at the First church of God warehouse. Every first Monday & Tuesday of the month the Food Pantry serves over 300 families that depend on the pantry’s services to help make ends meet. Specifically, Blue Ridge students help with both the preparation and delivery of the food. On Monday 10 -15 students take over a ton of food that has been donated from large producers such as Food City, Kellogg’s, Little Caesars, Gatorade, and separate it into grocery bags that will be picked up the next day. The students form an assembly line along with other pantry volunteers to prepare the bags and set them out on the tables. One aspect of the food pantry that the students enjoy is the home cooked meal that the cooks prepare while the students are working. It adds to the sense of service, and the satisfaction one feels when people come together for the purpose of helping others. On the first day of the food pantry the student volunteer 9:30PM-2:30PM

On Tuesday the students volunteer 9:30AM-6:00PM. The food pantry doesn’t officially open till 1:00PM. However until then the students are taking care of all the cold food that its distributed. Items like bread, chicken, hamburger, fish are held till the last minute before handed out. Once the pantry is open, our students ensure each family receives the appropriate number if bags, and will then place the bags in a grocery card and deliver to the persons vehicle. This will continue all day till the bags are gone.

On July 11, 2016 & July 12, 2016 Blue Ridge Job Corps students continued this mission. 15 students went on Monday, and 14 on Tuesday. Harold Atkins has told us this many times “ if it was not for the help of the Job Corps then this food pantry could not happen” They always go the “extra mile”, and “ask for work” when things slow down. The experience is both rewarding and humbling. It allows everyone to feel what it’s truly like to help someone in need, and that is what Blue Ridge students are learning to take us into the next generation of young professionals.