The Villages - July 2020 - 49

FEEDING THE COMMUNITY
A CALL TO ACTION

Two of those Villagers are Don and Marlene
Huggins, of the Village of Buttonwood.
For the last 15 years, Don and Marlene have
served the Wildwood Food Pantry, where they are
coordinators, overseeing the pantry's day-to-day
operations and donations.
"We're here five days a week accepting food or
monetary donations," Marlene said.
Operating out of a large storage area attached to
Wildwood United Methodist Church, the Wildwood
Food Pantry has been in operation since May 2005,
and is a joint venture between Wildwood United
Methodist Church and New Covenant United
Methodist Church.
When a separate food pantry in Wildwood closed,
Don says the pastors of both churches decided to
work together to maintain a faith-based food pantry
for the area.
Don and Marlene are members of New Covenant,
and Don says he and Marlene were looking for a way
to serve their community and the food pantry seemed
like a good opportunity.
"We knew we wanted to help out," Don said.
"I had been in a leadership position in our church
and was deciding what I wanted to do, and this
opportunity came up. I thought, 'Maybe this is what's
really meant to be, so let's try it.' And now here we
are, 15 years later."
Don says the pantry now serves as many as four to
five times what they were able to do when they opened.
"The first time we did this, we started out with
about 30-40 families," Don said. "Now, we average
around 150-170 (families) twice a month, and we've
served as many as 220."
When things started changing due to social
distancing rules and CDC recommendations, Don
says the Wildwood Food Pantry and many of the
other local food pantries had to find new methods to
adapt to the new normal.

NEW METHODS

Like all of us, food pantries have had to come up
with new, creative ways to continue doing the work they do.
At the Wildwood Food Pantry, people normally would
need to get out of their vehicle to receive their food
on delivery days. Now, Don says they have adopted
new procedures so clients can stay in their vehicles the
entire time.
"We've streamlined our process even more," Don said.
"Nobody gets out of their car. We line them up in the parking
lot in a long line, then the come up the driveway and all the
food is staged out under a canopy. By the time a car gets up
to (the canopy), there's a note on it that says what the family
size is. It's really a smooth operation. Like everybody, we're
adapting."
As social distancing measures are lifted and things begin
returning to a new normal, it remains to be seen what
processes and procedures Don, Marlene and the rest of the
team at Wildwood Food Pantry will continue to use and refine
going forward.

THE FIRST TIME WE DID THIS, WE STARTED OUT WITH ABOUT
30-40 FAMILIES. NOW, WE AVERAGE AROUND 150-170 (FAMILIES)
TWICE A MONTH, AND WE'VE SERVED AS MANY AS 220.
- Don Huggins
MAGAZINE

49
The Villages - July 2020

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