By L. Parsons The Winslow Rotary Club has continued to help serve the community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Member Charles “Chipper” Cunningham has headed a partnership with St. Mary’s Mobile Food Pantry and has distributed over 500 food boxes per month to families in the Winslow area. Cunningham said, “When St. Vincent De Paul closed here in Winslow, we knew there were going to be a lot of hungry people. We reached out to St. Mary’s as they were just rolling out the mobile pantry, I think we were one of the few as a test site.” Since that initial partnership, the program has grown to include over 105 volunteers. He continued, “It takes an army to make this happen and we are blessed with awesome volunteers from the entire city. I also have some friends in the auto industry that come from Cottonwood to help out.” In addition to volunteers, the drive-thru food box distribution also relies on the Winslow Public Works Department, Winslow Police Department and the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office to help mitigate the long lines that form. Those long lines consist of families in need who are welcomed to participate each month. Cunningham said, “We are learning as we go and right now we are in the process of switching over to a paperless system to do the check-in process.” The process he spoke of is simple by design and built to help as many families as they can. “In order to get food, you will need to show your Arizona driver’s license and to fill out a short form if you’re not in the system yet. It’s a contactless process, so you stay inside your vehicle the entire time. You then drive through the loading site and our volunteers will load your food box in to your car.” According to Cunningham, the Winslow Rotary Club started in Winslow in 1923. “We are one of the oldest clubs in the world. We mainly try to do things locally and for children and there are rotary programs globally that we help with also.” The next food distribution will be at 12 noon tomorrow, July 23, at First United Methodist Church, located at 101 E. Hillview St. The line can begin to form at 11:55 a.m. According to the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office, anyone lined up before that time will be turned away. Organizers are reminding people to adhere to social distancing guidelines and masks are recommended. No walk-up service will be given and those seeking assistance must remain in their vehicles. For further information, visit Rotary of Winslow on Facebook.
