Fellowship Cup stocked, ready for Christmas food distribution

MT. PLEASANT - The Fellowship Cup is stocked and ready for its annual Christmas meal distribution.

This year, the Henry County nonprofit will provide the food boxes on Saturday, Dec. 19, from 9 a.m. to noon. To receive a food box, residents will need to call to receive a time slot to arrive and pick up their meal. Pickup groups are broken up by the last names of clients.

The box, much like the Thanksgiving meal, will include the choice of a turkey or ham as well as sides including dinner rolls and canned vegetables. For the past 15 years, the nonprofit has served about 120 to 130 families with the meal.

Ken Brown, executive director of the Fellowship Cup, said the pantry is ready for the holiday season and does not need further donations for the distribution. Brown encourages people to donate after Christmas to help replenish shelves or to donate monetarily on the nonprofit's website. Brown said with money, the nonprofit would be able to use the funds at the food bank and stretch each dollar to purchase more food for those in need.

The executive director added the nonprofit may be serving even more people this year in light of the pandemic.

'It's always been important before, but things have gotten a lot tighter for people. Benefits are going away and not being renewed, so as we close out this year, it's going to be a lot tighter for people than normal,” he said.

In addition to the annual Christmas meal distribution, the Fellowship Cup has closed its adopt-a-family Christmas toy drive and is working on getting the approximately 60 children adopted out. The nonprofit collaborates with other local organizations including Toys for Tots, which will take names for Christmas donations through Dec. 16.

Those interested in contributing to the Christmas gift donation or signing up for the Christmas meal can do so by calling the Fellowship Cup at 319-385-3242.