VALDOSTA — Grilled barbecue chicken, baked beans and corn all wrapped up in a blue bag were handed to the anyone who needed it Christmas Eve.

First Baptist Church held its annual Feed the Needy event and handed food to residents in need of a warm meal Monday.

Chad Harrison said there was enough food to feed about 2,000 people and hundreds of volunteers worked for more than 19 hours to prepare and hand out food.

“We are trying to help out in the community and help feed people who are in poverty, homeless, bad times are happening — you know a lot of people are out of work, a lot of people are hurting and needing to be fed,” he said.

For First Baptist members, the feed is more than a way to encourage its members to be active during the holidays, but a way to encourage the entire community to be involved including other churches, organizations and children, Harrison said.

“What we like to do is get the youth involved, get the kids involved,” he said. “So, they come out and help make the plates so we know tomorrow’s generations will be taken care of, it helps build a little character, you know, taking care of other people, it’s what we are supposed to do as humans.”

For Harrison though, Feed the Needy is for more than the homeless, it is for the volunteers.

“We say feed the needy, and we think we’re feeding the people less fortunate, but we are actually getting fed ourselves by helping others,” he said. “We think we are here to help other people, but the thing we know these other people are praying for us. So, it’s funny how it works backwards and forwards.”

Lynn Loftus and Melissa Stephens both volunteered their time Monday morning outside the church on Central Avenue.

Loftus said it was about giving back to the community and spreading God’s love.

Stephens said being a volunteer and passing out the food to people less fortunate fills them with a rewarding feeling.

“It’s kind of more rewarding for us than for them,” Stephens said. “It really makes you feel good to help someone.”

Thomas Lynn is a government and education reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be reached at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256