Center feeds families from seven countiesBy Candace Rector
 For Thursday
food distributions, the ARC averages thirty to forty volunteers who help pack groceries and load bags into recipient's cars.
 Thanks to an
OBI cash grant, ARC was able to purchase a walk-in cooler to store perishable items.
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ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. - Every Thursday morning a line forms early in front of the old,
used-car dealership known as the Albemarle Resource Center (ARC).
Single moms holding babies, the unemployed, and others wait to receive groceries,
hygiene products and diapers. The elderly and disabled in the community also benefit from the ARC
through monthly deliveries made by adult and youth volunteers.
Since its inception in 1999, the center has grown significantly. On weekdays the ARC averages
ten to twenty volunteers a day and thirty to forty for Thursday distributions. Volunteers dispense
over one hundred and fifty bags of food a week, supplying goods to people arriving from seven
different counties across the northeastern corner of North Carolina.
"In terms of serving single moms, we are 54% above the national average," said Pastor Phil Dowdy
of the New Life Family Center, the parent organization of the ARC. "We serve 500 to 800 households
a month."
The ARC partnered with Operation Blessing International in January 2000 to expand their outreach
through OBI's dock ministry. Items are loaded onto trucks from the dock of OBI's 65,000 square foot
warehouse in Chesapeake, VA, and then delivered to the Albemarle Resource Center once a month.
"Over 40% of all goods dispersed through ARC are from the OBI warehouse," Pastor Dowdy said.
"Operation Blessing is phenomenal."
Logistics at the ARC improved after the staff used a cash grant from OBI to purchase a
twenty-four by eight foot walk-in cooler. The cooler helps preserve perishable donations given by
local grocery store chains.
The ARC also uses a database-driven computer system made possible through the OBI grant.
The system contains data on 2,030 households and tracks all distribution for the area.
"Guests are entered into the system and given a number to receive groceries," Pastor Dowdy
explained. "A volunteer counselor and runner are then assigned to escort recipients to their cars
with a cart full of groceries."
Operation Blessing's dock ministry is proving to be an effective tool for groups like the ARC
who are helping to break the cycle of suffering for those struggling and hungry in the United
States.
"We have success story after success story," Pastor Dowdy said. "Family members come back to
thank us after they have found stable employment and no longer need our services. We also receive
letter after letter of thanks. We are grateful to Operation Blessing for all they do for the ARC."
How You Can Help
Through soup kitchens, our fleet of Hunger Strike Force trucks and a broad network of U.S. agencies,
OBI is able to provide nutritious food and essential supplies to tens of thousands of children and adults
in America and overseas who face hunger every day. With your help, we can continue to reach even more!
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