Submitted photos Members of the West Virginia National Guard and other volunteers from the Tucker County community sort through food boxes delivered by the Mountaineer Food Bank in Parsons this week.

PARSONS — Nearly 300 families received food assistance in Tucker County this week when a Mountaineer Food Bank truck paid a visit — assisted by the West Virginia National Guard.

A host of volunteers, along with the National Guard members, helped set up a vehicle distribution line, carry heavy boxes of food, and clean up afterward at the Tucker Family Support Office on Wednesday.

“It was a big day for us,” Tucker County Family Resource Network Director April Miller told The Inter-Mountain. “We handed out a lot of food boxes from the Mountaineer Food Bank, and thankfully we had a lot of volunteers come out and help us with that. The truck comes every other month, but this one was a bigger one than usual.

“It was the first time we ever had the National Guard help us, and we are grateful they did because there were a lot of heavy boxes.”

Gov. Patrick Morrisey has announced the activation of the West Virginia National Guard to support food relief efforts during the federal government shutdown, to help with food insecurity amid delayed SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits,

Miller said in addition to the food truck coming to town on Wednesday, her organization also received a delivery from Dominion Energy that contained 100 boxes of food that will serve 20 families living in Tucker County.

“Dominion Energy supports our program and other organizations throughout the region,” Miller said. “They do that every year and the boxes have everything a family would need, from food and hygiene supplies to cleaning supplies. They’ve been doing that for a couple years.”

Miller said there’s been an increase of families in need of assistance in Tucker County, even before the SNAP benefits were delayed due to the government shutdown.

“The need is increasing and we generally serve around 160 people every other month with the Food Bank truck,” Miller said. “They brought more food this time, so we were able to help more families out. But the added burden of people not having SNAP benefits right now is impacting families and will likely continue to do so.”

Volunteers from the Parsons Police Department, Tucker County EMS/911, The Health Plan, Centers Against Violence and the National Youth Science Academy also dedicated their time to help distribute food boxes Wednesday.

The Tucker County Family Support Center also runs a program called “The Backpack Buddies” in which more than 100 children in the Tucker County school system are sent home with a backpack full of food for the weekend.

“Every Friday, kids get a pack with basically non-perishable food items they can take home,” Miller said. “It’s designed to help the kids get through the weekend, because some of them may not have a whole lot to eat at home, where throughout the week they get breakfast and lunch at school.”

Miller said the Tucker County Family Support Center also has a pantry for those in need, and that the organization makes referrals to two other pantries, both the Hinkle House’s and the Blackwater Ministerial Association’s.

For more information on any of the organization’s programs, visit the Tucker County Family Support Center’s Facebook page or call 304-478-3827.

National Guard members line up boxes to be placed in vehicles at the Tucker County Family Support Office in Parsons this week.