Submitted Photo Pastor Erika Lopez drives a forklift to help distribute food.

The Outpour Project in Dunkirk has been designated to be a hub for food distribution in Chautauqua County. After the first weekend, the response has been overwhelming.

Pastor Erika Lopez was contacted by a friend who works closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was asked to be an approved contractor in their “Farmers to Families” program. This program includes the USDA spending money on food from farms in the United States to then distribute to their designated hubs which then spread the food around the community.

Lopez is asking those leading churches, groups, or other organizations to pick up food from these hubs to distribute to their congregations, friends, and families. She also encourages food pantries to come and collect food to distribute to their regulars and families in need.

“We want to help out the community in any way we can and this opportunity seemed so wonderful,” Lopez said. “It’s not a church event, but we want all the churches in the area to come pick up some food to spread out, along with anybody else. There are no requirements or information that is needed. Everybody is welcome.”

According to Lopez, they will be receiving about 2,200 boxes of food in the north county and the south county (split evenly) every Saturday in October. The food available for distribution beginning at 10 a.m. in Dunkirk and available at 1 p.m. in Jamestown. The operations will be in drive-through style, so exposure to COVID-19 is kept at a minimum for all involved.

“We are also looking for volunteers to help out at both locations,” Lopez said. “If they’d like to, they can call us or just show up at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning.”

Last weekend in Dunkirk, 1,000 boxes of food were distributed in less than two hours. Those boxes included locally sourced meats, dairy products, fruits, vegetables and a variety of other items.

The locations for the drives are at The Outpour Project’s building in Dunkirk at 61 E. Fourth St. and Healing Word Ministries in Jamestown at 1006 W. Third St. All community members are encouraged to grab some food.

“Together we can make our community a better place,” Lopez said. “The Outpour Project wants to help support our community the best way we can, we’re so happy that this opportunity arose.”

The Outpour Project can be reached at 363-2110 or outpourproject@gmail.com

Vicki Notaro contributed to this report.