VALDOSTA – Break Bread Together, a local meal assistance program, will observe its 50th year of operation with a celebration worship service Sunday, Dec. 3.
The volunteer-based community service ministry was established in 1973 by members of First Presbyterian Church of Valdosta. The members’ mission is to furnish hot, healthy meals to low-income individuals who are aged 65 and older, homebound, unable to drive and receive little to no familial support.
Beth Mathis has served as the organization’s coordinator since October 2016. She said the celebration’s purpose is to thank everyone who has supported the Break Bread Together mission with their time, talent and treasure including everyone who has made a delivery, fundraiser supporters or donators.
The celebration will be held at the church, located on 313 N. Patterson St., beginning at 11 a.m. with refreshments being served from noon to 1 p.m.
One of Mathis’ first goals was to notify more people about the organization’s service. She said when she first applied for the position she was not aware of the program’s availability in the area. She has witnessed the need for meal assistance increase throughout her years of service.
“When I started we had 17 recipients and now we have 39 [recipients] because I made it a mission to put this out in front of the people in Valdosta to let them know that this was here,” she said in a phone interview Tuesday.
She served in the social work field prior to joining Break Bread Together, so the transition as coordinator was easy for her. But the job still presents challenges that the organization works hard to address.
“The hardest thing I do is when I have people call who are not 65 but maybe disabled or do not live in our delivery area but still live in Lowndes County is to tell them I can’t serve them. But I refer them to the South Georgia Regional Agency of Aging and maybe they might be able to help them,” she explained.
Break Bread Together serves lunch meals every week from Monday to Friday. The meal packages are sorted and arranged by volunteers. Delivery drivers then distribute the meals to recipients on five routes within the Valdosta city limits.
The program currently has a one-year-long waiting list, but Mathis encourages interested individuals to apply. For example if an applicant is currently 64, they might be 65 by the time their application is reviewed.
Mathis said it takes about 30 people per week to complete the week’s tasks and the program is in need of more people willing to help.
Individuals who are interested in either applying or serving as a volunteer can contact Break Bread Together Coordinator Beth Mathis at 229-249-0779 at the main office located at 105 East Magnolia Street, across from the Lowndes County Judicial Complex. The office’s operating hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Mathis asks for anyone who leaves a voicemail to ensure they include their phone number in the recorded message.
More information can also be found by emailing breakbread@firstpresvaldosta.org.