New Beginnings Church on 401 Oak St. is working to help feed the families of their local community through their weekly Free Food Friday event.
After receiving a reimbursement from the USDA, the church will be handing out food to students and their families every Friday from 3:15-5:40 p.m.
Pastor Thomas Medlin and his wife, Heather, are the heads of this project. By working with The Well Rural Resource, a non-profit in Iberia, their church is able to pick up the food packaged by the organization and bring it to California and its neighbors.
"We're really excited to be able to provide this service for the community and the families that are coming through," Heather Medlin said. "We have a menu that's put together by Iberia where families get seven suppers and seven snacks. It all follows the USDA guidelines with fruits, vegetables and whole grain. (Each family) also gets a gallon of milk per child."
Thomas Medlin said he and his congregation at New Beginnings were happy to start this new program in California. He said establishing Free Food Friday was a step in the right direction when it comes to helping those in need, especially when considering the hardships that people are still dealing with.
"Part of the reason we established this is because we're still in a pandemic," Thomas Medlin said. "Obviously, we just want to be a blessing to the community but the pandemic is still going on and there is still a need for (assistance). There is still hunger in rural communities, as well, and there should be help for that."
Heather Medlin said Free Food Friday also offers families the ability to save up their funds if necessary. By gathering food through New Beginnings, money can be spent attending to other utilities such as gas, bills or child care costs.
"It's good quality food and it's nutritious. We get comments all the time about the quality and the freshness of the food," the Medlins said. "We just want people to know that we are here every Friday whether rain, shine or snow, so come on through."