'Overflowing shelves': Columbia's Family Center receives its largest donation yet

Columbia’s Family Center received a semi-truck loaded with more than 40,000 pounds of non-perishable food ready for distribution to local families in need of assistance.

“This is the largest shelf-stable donation we have ever received,” said Dawn Taylor, the nonprofit organization’s executive director. “It has overflown our shelves.”

Taylor said the food will be stored at the center’s office at 921 Beckett St. and distributed to families as needed in the weeks and months ahead.

Also known as The South Central Family Center, Inc., the operation is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals to break the cycle of poverty. 

The nonprofit provides a mix of services, including a food bank, that offers immediate hands-on assistance as well as an added focus aimed at helping families restore stability through guidance that allows them to seek stability in the years to come.

Taylor said the donation of long-lasting canned fruit and vegetables, flour, pasta, sauce and beef stew comes at a time when the center is experiencing an extended lull in donations but an increase in visitors seeking assistance.

“It comes at a great time,” Taylor said. “It has really filled a whole for us. Kids are getting out of school. We always see an uptick during this time. Everybody is just going to get a whole lot of food. We will be able to serve more and not worry about running out of food for a while.”

Last year, as COVID-19 led to a surge in unemployment with many businesses unable to operate due to the presence of the virus, the Family Center was providing assistance to more than 600 households.

Now, following a wave of relief funds from the federal government, Taylor said the organization is currently assisting about 300 households each month, a dip from the average of 400 families assisted by the organization before the pandemic.

“We went from seeing hundreds of people to a handful,” Taylor said.

But as the relief funds dry-up, Taylor said she expects the recent donation will support local families as more return to the center for assistance in the coming months.

“We imagine folks will comeback in,” Taylor said.

A gift through faith

The donation is a gift from the Welfare and Self-Reliance Services Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, coordinated by Maury County’s Assistant Director of Emergency Management Pat Woodmansee.

“Serving others as Jesus Christ did is at the heart of who we are,” said James Steanson, the church’s stake president said in a press release.

Steanson oversees 10 congregations in Columbia, Dickson, Franklin, Lawrenceburg, Linden and Spring Hill.

“These challenging times can draw out the best in everyone,” Steanson said. “We are truly grateful for the resources and the ability to help our neighbors and friends.”

Last year, the church donated truckloads of food to organizations in Clarksville, Franklin, Memphis, Dickson and Murfreesboro.

The donations were enough to fill seven 53-foot trailers with food and other essential items. 

Steanson said the church continues to see the same pace in 2021.

The Welfare and Self-Reliance Services Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints focuses on ministering to temporal needs, building spiritual and temporal self-reliance and to bless both the giver and the receiver.

Steanson said the church has more than 100 Bishop Storehouses throughout the United States that supply food and household items to those in need.

The items donated to the Family Center were  provided by fast offerings and other generous donations from members of the church.

Food and supplies from the church’s Bishops' Storehouse are also sent to those affected by natural disasters, wars or economic crises, Steanson said.

He said the church has also committed $20 million in support of UNICEF’s Global COVID-19 Response and is providing medical and emergency supplies, commodities, and training healthcare professionals regarding prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in 39 countries throughout the world.

How to help Columbia's Family Center

As the Family Center continues to sort through the more than 40,000 pounds of food, Taylor said the organization is in need of volunteers to assist in the process of sorting and storing for future use.

Those willing to offer a helping hand in the process should call  (931) 388-3840 or email family@familycenter.org.