Items damaged by Hurricane Michael sit beside the road in Port St. Joe, Fla.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — The first shipment of supplies for the Florida coast is scheduled to depart Thursday from Moultrie.

Four local churches, assisted by The Moultrie Observer, have been collecting items from a list supplied by the mayor of Port St. Joe, Fla., of things that victims of Hurricane Michael greatly need.

Jim Lowry, a Moultrian with a second home in Port St. Joe, has been coordinating the effort with First Baptist, Trinity Baptist, First Methodist and First Presbyterian churches and The Observer. Late Wednesday he provided a new list of items that residents of the coast are needing.

Four of the five items on the list are food-related, but the fifth is intended to bring a little joy into the lives of the children there.

Just like last week, each church will ask members of its congregation for one of the items, and The Observer is asking its readers to take the fifth item to one of the churches between 9 a.m. and noon Monday through Friday.

• Trinity Baptist, 201 12th Ave. S.E.: Jars of jelly and containers of coffee creamer.

• First Presbyterian, 501 First St. S.E.: Multi-packs of cereal.

• First Methodist, 409 First St. S.E.: Power drinks, like Gatorade or Powerade.

• First Baptist, East Fifth Avenue: Packages of nutrition bars.

And, finally, The Observer is asking its readers for Halloween costumes or masks. Please take whatever you can spare along those lines to one of the churches so they can be delivered in next week’s shipment. For those who are able to donate two or more, please bring both girls’ and boys’ costumes to ensure all the children of the coast have a chance to celebrate the holiday.

The Rev. Richard Gillespie, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, said that after talking with his fellow ministers, it appeared response to the first week of collections had gone well, although there hadn’t been any kind of count to see if they’d hit target numbers.

This week’s goal is 200 or more of each of the items.

Port St. Joe is a regional distribution center for relief supplies, Lowry said, so items sent there will be distributed all up and down the coast battered by Hurricane Michael two weeks ago.

Lowry, who is in Port St. Joe awaiting the truck’s arrival, said circumstances are very bad there.

“Eighty percent of the homes are damaged,” he said in Wednesday’s email. “70 percent (had) 2 feet of water in the homes. You can ride the roads any direction and water-soaked furniture and mattresses are setting by the road side.”

“This is a disaster,” he wrote in a follow-up email. “Mexico Beach, the hurricane destroyed all. Here a lot of work but looks like many homes may be saved after a lot of interior work is done.”