Randolph County Economic Development Authority Director Bryant Whaley on Wednesday announced a partnership with the East Alabama Regional Planning Development Commission (EARPDC) and U.S. Department of Agriculture to supply free meals.

The USDA Farms to Families program will supply citizens a box meal of meat, fruit, and vegetables free of charge. The first day of the program will be held on Wednesday, June 10 followed by Wednesday, June 24. Meals will be dispersed from 9-11 a.m. at the Randolph County Economic Development Authority (RCEDA) office at 1218 Highway 431 in Roanoke, the agency said in a news release. There are no residency or age requirements to receive a meal. Anyone in the area is welcomed to get a meal.

A refrigerated truck will be parked beside the RCEDA office; participants will be able to pull up and volunteers will disperse the meals. People will not have to get out of their vehicles. Everyone needs to be mindful of the needs of others and not take more meals than needed for his/her family, the RCEDA said in a news release. The meals will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis. The RCEDA said participation is strongly encouraged because the rate of participation will decide the amount of meals distributed for future dates.

“Times are tough, unemployment is over 13%. People are hungry and need help. This not much, but at least it is a start,” Whaley said.

“We jumped at the chance to leverage our partnerships with GA Foods and the USDA to bring needed resources of our rural counties,” said EARPDC Director Lori Corley. “We knew that we could count on our local governments and our partner Randolph County Economic Development Authority to assist with local logistics.

“This is a true partnership of federal, state, regional and local governments working together to meet a basic need,” Corley said.

(Courtesy of Alabama NewsCenter)