Bi-Lo selects PeachCenter Ministries for food drive

A local nonprofit organization is getting a little help in its quest to provide some holiday cheer for the entire county.

PeachCenter Ministries, which provides families in the community with money, medicine and other items to help them during times of need, will receive assistance from BI-LO Charities this holiday season. For $5, local BI-LO customers can purchase a bag of groceries containing essential nonperishable food items. The groceries will then be donated to the PeachCenter, which will distribute the items to families in need.

According to BI-LO Charities Director Carol Browning, it is all a part of the organization's hope to spread good tidings to all."

BI-LO Charities has sponsored a holiday food drive for many years," Browning said. "The holiday Hunger Relief Program is a great opportunity for us to team up with our customers and help people in our community who are in need this holiday season."

Among the items found in the special grocery bags are those most requested by persons visiting food banks. The bags contain things such as green beans, macaroni and cheese, evaporated milk, tuna, chicken noodle soup, beef ravioli and canned potatoes. PeachCenter was chosen from a pool of other Cherokee County nonprofit organizations to be the recipient of groceries and other items from the local BILO location on Floyd Baker Boulevard.

The nonprofit group, which provides a wealth of services including food, medicine and money to help pay bills, has seen the number of clients it serves increase in recent months. In the month of October, PeachCenter served more than 770 people.

"We have seen many new clients lately, perhaps due to all the layoffs in Cherokee County," said PeachCenter Ministries Director Tammie McGee. "We had more than 50 new clients just in the month of October."

In addition to its locations in South Carolina, BI-LO also has stores in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. Each of the locations have adopted their own charity effort to donate bags of food items during the holiday season.

"This is something that is not just in Gaffney or South Carolina, it's program-wide," said BILO Charities' Elizabeth Jenkins. "The economy has caused a lot more to need help and has caused a lot of people to struggle. But hopefully our organization in cooperation with others can make a difference."