Rock the Community hosted a drive-through giveaway event Saturday at Parkade Plaza in Columbia. Rock the Community and Powerhouse Community Development Corporation worked together to provide food for families and pets, as well as essential toiletries. A collaboration between multiple local organizations and volunteers, the drive-through was a one-stop shop to access the services of local nonprofits. The drive-through events were created out of community need from the pandemic, but Rock the House director Rita Renee said that the organization will continue hosting such events into the future.
Craig Jackson, right, talks with volunteer Lonnie Cooper at the Rock the Community drive-through giveaway Saturday in Columbia. Jackson filled out a form to indicate what he needed, and Cooper told the rest of his team what supplies to load.
Wayne Freelon loads a box of food supplies into a resident’s truck Saturday at Parkade Plaza in Columbia. The drive-through was expected to serve upwards of hundreds of families.
Loaves of bread sit on top of boxes at the Rock the Community drive-through giveaway Saturday at Parkade Plaza in Columbia. Powerhouse Community Development Corporation brought food supplies from a pantry in Marshall.
Powerhouse Community Development Corporation volunteer Rico Espinoza moves box of food from the back of a truckSaturday at Parkade Plaza in Columbia. Espinoza drove the truck containing food supplies and helped unload it for the drive-through.
Powerhouse Community Development Corporation Food Coordinator Salena Johnson unloads food from the back of a truck Saturday at Parkade Plaza in Columbia. Johnson helped to organize food and volunteers coming from another Powerhouse site in Marshall.
Rock the Community director Rita Renee waves cars over so that her team can provide supplies Saturday at Parkade Plaza in Columbia. Renee said that the Rock the Community drive-through started out of need during the pandemic. “We answered that call,” she said.
