Commissioners Hand Out Food In Hands-On Way For Holidays

Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston, who just got elected to that leadership position a few weeks before Christmas, said this week that he wanted the board to be engaged in helping citizens right away – which is why, Alston said, he came up with the idea for the Guilford County commissioners and county staff to hold a holiday food drive.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners often votes to fund causes and programs meant to feed the hungry and help the less fortunate – however, this was a chance for the county’s leaders to stand in the cold alongside of county staff and actually take part in giving out the food.

On Wednesday morning, Dec. 23, Alston and other county commissioners, county officials and staff gave out food at the county’s Health and Human Services building on Maple Street in Greensboro while other county officials did so in downtown High Point. 

In total, the events provided over a thousand boxes which were meant to provide the families with more than one meal.

Alston said it was heartwarming to see how appreciative the people were to get the boxes of food.

Alston had high praise for Interim Guilford County Manager and County Clerk Robin Keller, who he said did a terrific job bringing all the elements together.

He added that many others had contributed as well and he thanked some of them on Facebook.

“I would like to give a huge thank you to our Guilford County employees, my fellow County Commissioners and Sheriff Danny Rogers and his team for making our first County food drive a great success,” a comment Alston posted on Facebook.  “We were successfull in providing food packages for 1,000 families today for the holiday season.”

Alston told the Rhino Times he’d like to see the program become a Christmas tradition for the Board of Commissioners – and, the bigger the event, the better.  His goal is for next year’s food give-away to double in size and help feed over 2,000 families.

“Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year,” Alston added to his post.  “Be safe and remember the 3W’s. Wear your mask, Wash your hands and Wait 6 feet apart.  Be blessed!”