Our Code Enforcement Department stays busy making sure our community is up to standards and safe, and on Thursday, they took a break to continue helping people in a different way. 

Several officers assisted the Forest Hills Church with its community food giveaway. This was the fifth time the church has held its distribution since the beginning in Spring 2021. They plan to hold at least three every year.

“This is a great opportunity to give back to our community,” said Rodney Miller, Code Enforcement Assistant Director. “While we’ve been in our neighborhoods, we’ve met so many great people, and we want to be there for them in ways more than just removing blight from their streets.” 

“There are people in our community who are food insecure and don’t know where their next meal will come from,” said Tom Adkisson, Missions Chairman for Forest Hills Church. “This need has been exasperated by COVID and more recently inflation.” 

According to Adkisson, the food is provided by the Middle Georgia Community Bank, and they give out meat (fresh and frozen), canned and packaged dry goods, fresh vegetables (when in season), fresh fruit, and more. Each distribution, the church has given a 30-pound box of food (about 25 meals) to 400 families.   

“We appreciate Forest Hills Church and the Code Enforcement Department for volunteering to provide extra food assistance as many families struggle this fall,” said Middle Georgia Community Food Bank President and CEO, Kathy McCollum. “We rely on 190 partner agencies to distribute food across our 24-county service area. Most of them are volunteer-run and include food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and backpack agencies, so their work is greatly loved by many people.”