Senior citizens across the area will receive a much needed meal in the coming days thanks to the American Red Cross program, Groceries for Granny’s Pantry.

Peggy Owens-Mansfield, executive director of the Pine Belt Chapter of the American Red Cross, said more than 550 boxes of groceries will be delivered to the frail and elderly in Jones, Smith, Wayne and Jasper counties during the first week of December.

“We get our referrals from home health agencies and other agencies and groups that serve the elderly,” she said. “We have school and community drives like the Day of Caring to help with this. Churches and all different people collect canned good for us.”

Owens-Mansfield said the American Red Cross also has a grant to pay for other specific items, making for a well-rounded box.

“This project started in the late 1980s with 50 boxes,” she said. “Today, we’re giving up to 550 boxes. There’s a great need out there for the elderly, and we identified that need all those years ago.”

Owens-Mansfield said directors decided to start the Granny’s Pantry program because the elderly oftentimes have very little money on which to eat.

“Older people pay their bills and do the things they’re supposed to do, then eat on what’s left,” she said. “They’re very, very frugal with their money, but many are on such a limited income to begin with.

“The older generation didn’t have the luxury of having a drug program so they’re stuck with whatever program they can get or paying out of their pocket,” Owens-Mansfield added. “They may make $1,000 a month, but they have to pay $400 for their medicine. We see them all the time through our utility program. We can’t do this but just once a year, but at least we can do it once a year.”

Owens-Mansfield said she does not believe any other Red Cross chapter in the state offers a similar program.

“It’s something we started in the late 1980s when it became obvious that it was necessary and needed,” she said. “The program keeps growing and growing. We could honestly give out thousands of boxes, but we select the neediest of the needy.”

Owens-Mansfield noted that the program is not a part of the core mission of the Red Cross, but is “important to us to feel like once a year we’re telling somebody we care.”

Owens-Mansfield credits the Red Cross Youth for their assistance with the program. More than 50 students from the four-county area took time during their Thanksgiving break to give back, packing the boxes in a rented storage space in the Pendorff Community.

“The pantry groceries do give the elderly a little break during the holidays,” she said. “But, we also think it’s vitally important for these young people that work with us to be a part of the project. They need to see and know the needs of the elderly.”

Owens-Mansfield said the Red Cross Youth also deliver many of the boxes, which she called a “real eye-opener.”

“We have some really good and caring young people,” she said. “It really touches their souls to see what these people live on or in. It’s very educational for them, and it makes them very compassionate. It shows them why they’re collecting cans of food at school. If they just collect cans and never see the end result, we haven’t really accomplished a whole lot.”

Owens-Mansfield commended the members of the Red Cross Youth who skipped out on their holiday break to volunteer.

“They could be at home sleeping late, but they made a choice to do something,” she said. “I personally think that makes a lot more caring adults if they’re brought up this way. I see them as the future of the community, the compassionate caring part. They’re involved with a lot of the programs that we do.”

Owens-Mansfield said that it is also fun to see the young people assembling the boxes.

“When they get on a roll, they can make 10 boxes every five minutes,” she said. “To me, it’s one of the things that warms my heart.”

Owens-Mansfield recalled a story of two football players, who took a box to an elderly lady without legs several years ago.

“She took a can of soup and said she could make three meals out of it,” Owens-Mansfield said. “When they got back, I saw them over by the soup. They said they thought they would take a few more cans of soup so she could eat a whole can. That’s a lesson that is really hard to teach, but they lived it. They ended up looking out for her several months after Christmas.”

Owens-Mansfield said the story serves as a reminder of why their mission is so important.

“We don’t stop to think that there are people in the world who can only eat half of a can of something,” she said. “Everybody is not that poor, and the churches and other organizations really try. But, so many times you just don’t know the needs are there.”

Katie Pittman, a senior at Raleigh High School, was one of the students putting together food boxes this week.

“A lot of love goes into the preparation,” she said. “It’s a very rewarding feeling to give these boxes to needy people and make a difference in their holiday season.”

Pittman, who has participated in the program for four years, said the recipients are very grateful to receive the food.

“Sometimes, they realize that is the only food they will have for at least a few weeks, and sometimes people cry,” she said. “It’s a joy to see their smiles. They are very grateful to get the boxes.”

Pittman noted that she has always wanted to help others that are not as fortunate.

“I’ve always been a caring person,” she said. “I wanted to get involved and make a difference in my community.”

Wilton Givens, a student from Bay Springs, also noted that participating is a “very rewarding feeling.”

“Sometimes, we take for granted what we have,” he said. “When you see their needs, it makes you want to help them even more.”

Givens, who joined the Red Cross Youth this year, said he was originally asked by a friend, but quickly wanted to get involved.

“I went to the nursing home with my church and saw how happy it made them,” he said. “It’s a very good feeling to help.”

For more information on the Pine Belt Chapter of the American Red Cross, call 601-426-9071.